San Jose was settled by the Ohlones
over 1000
years ago. On January 12, 1777,
the first Mass was said at the new
Mission de Santa Clara de Asis. In
1797, the Spanish built Mission San
Jose in Fremont.

Lawrence Expressway, the stop-and-go capital of valley
commuting, could very well have been called "Bull" Expressway,
an interesting footnote to contemplate while stuck in traffic.
It was named in the late 1800s for a local settler who was born
Albert Chester Bull before changing it to Lawrence. He
came from England then Boston.

Lenzen Avenue was named after Theodore Lenzen, an architect,
who at the time of his retirement near the turn of the century could
safely say that there was not a street in all of San Jose that did not
contain at least one of his buildings.

McKee Road is the namesake of Henry McKee, who along
with his son Joseph, ferried the first shipment of Santa Clara Valley
fruit, from the port in Alviso up to the booming little town of
San Francisco. His house stood where San Jose High School
stands today.

Race Street is just as it sounds--the place where they had all
the races. Originally bought by Gen. Henry M. Naglee for
$6,000, it saw contests of ranging from horse races (e.g.
record-breaking horses like Leland Stanford's prized steed
"Palo Alto") to exciting bicycle races.

White Road got its title from Charles White, the "law man"
of Pueblo de San Jose in its early years.

In 1849, James Reed, along with Charles White, successfully convinced the constitutional
convention that had assembled in Monterey to make Pueblo de San Jose the capital of California.

Together they offered to put up the $34,000 needed to build the capitol building to house the
new legislature. The convention agreed, and the first California capital was established here.

The Reed family's house sat near downtown on Third and Margaret streets (named after his wife,
who actually spelled it Margret) until it was replaced by an on-ramp to Highway 280 in 1972.

Bascom Avenue is one of the few thoroughfares named for a
woman. As the legislators of the new state began making their
way into the area, a kindly lady began a little business
selling pancakes and other food to the incoming lawmakers.

"Grandma" Bascom, as she was known, was adored by
many who made her acquaintance. A little-known fact is that
she was the first person to bring a piano to the Bay Area. For
many years she would play for the delighted visitors and
natives who would gather outside her home to listen to her
pounding away on the keys into the late evening.

Bascom Avenue originally stretched from Stevens Creek
Boulevard to the south edge of Santa Clara, until it was
extended to Los Gatos in 1961.