San José Public Library, California Room

The Bernal Files are a collection of notes and materials gathered by Dr. James P. Delgado when he was researching the history of Rancho Santa Teresa in the 1970s. The collection includes research on the Bernal and other Santa Clara County pioneering families.

Institution: San José Public Library, California Room

California Revealed is a State Library initiative to help California’s public libraries, in partnership with other local heritage groups, digitize, preserve, and provide online access to archival materials - books, newspapers, photographs, audiovisual recordings, and more - that tell the incredible stories of the Golden State. We also provide free access and preservation services for existing digital collections for partner organizations with in-house digitization programs. California Revealed is supported by the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act, administered in California by the State Librarian.

Institution: San José Public Library, California Room

The City of San José was official incorporated on March 27, 1850 by Legislative Act through Chapter 47 of the Statutes of California. The San José Public Library holds City of San José Council Minutes, Ordinance and Resolution Records from 1850 to 1950 dealing with maintaining public safety, health, morals, and general welfare of the people living in San José. Also included are photographs and records from the Office of the City Clerk.

Institution: San José Public Library, California Room

These items were selected from the collections of the California Room to give an overview of life in Santa Clara County before it became known as Silicon Valley. The materials cover the years 1847-1952, with most dating to the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Materials include photographs, postcards, letters, maps, pamphlets and other ephemerae. The emphasis is on the portrayal of rural and small town life in Santa Clara County including farms, orchards, canneries, streets, transportation, education, recreation and everyday activities. Materials were chosen from the files of the California Room and the Arbuckle Research Collection.

Institution: San José Public Library, California Room

Mary Edmonia Lewis was born in 1845 or 1846. Both of her parents passed away early in her life; her African American father in 1847 and her mother of Mississauga and African American descent two years later. She stayed with her mother’s tribe near Niagara Falls until the age of eight. Her brother, Samuel “Sunrise” W. Lewis, provided her financial support throughout her life. He funded her early schooling near Albany and later her attendance at Oberlin College in Ohio. Her career at Oberlin ended abruptly when she was accused of poisoning two of her white roommates. Lewis was acquitted …

Institution: San José Public Library, California Room

The Ephemera Collection currently includes a representative selection of ephemera from the California Room Collection. New images are added to the collection as they are digitized. The term ephemera refers to anything short-lived or ephemeral, and is generally printed paper material that was meant to be thrown away. This includes printed matter such as brochures, handbills, memorabilia, pamphlets, tickets, timetables, etc. Printed ephemera often documents events that are recorded nowhere else, making them a valuable resource to researchers. Our collection of ephemera materials centers on people, places, and events in the Santa Clara Valley, and dates back to the late …

Institution: San José Public Library, California Room

The Fiesta de las Rosas was an annual festival designed to highlight San Jose as a “garden city” and bring tourists into town. This collection was compiled by the Fiesta de las Rosas Committee, and consists of correspondence, fiesta guidelines, entry forms, tickets, pamphlets, etc. There are photographs of floats, grand parade, the fiesta princess and her court, and entries for the cutest baby contest. There are also some materials from the unsuccessful attempt to revive the Fiesta in 1969. The Rose Carnival began in 1896 and became the Fiesta de las Rosas in 1920. 30 acress of flowers were …

Institution: San José Public Library, California Room

Frontier Village was a western-themed amusement park which opened in 1961 and closed in 1980. It was located on approximately 30 acres of what had previously been part of the Hayes' estate on Monterey Highway in San Jose. After the park's closure, part of the land it occupied was eventually made into a city park called Edenvale Garden Park Frontier Village was started by Joseph Zukin Jr., a Palo Alto entrepreneur and small businessman, after he and his family visited Disneyland in 1959. The look and design of Frontier Village is owed to Laurie (Laurence) Hollings, an experienced Hollywood set …

Institution: San José Public Library, California Room

This collection contains journals and rare books from the California Room collections dating from 1767 to 1910. This includes a handwritten account entitled “Scenes and Adventures of an Overland Journey to California, beginning April 10, 1852,” written by Marion W. Battey who later married Joseph Weller of Milpitas.

Institution: San José Public Library, California Room

The California Room has an extensive collection of over 1,000 maps from the 1870s to the 1980s. The collection includes historic maps of Santa Clara County and street maps of individual cities within the County. The collection also includes some old street and road maps for San Francisco and other cities in the San Francisco/Monterey Bay Areas. In addition to the street maps, there are also geologic, earthquake, planning, and land use maps for San Jose and Santa Clara County. While the collection concentrates on San Jose and Santa Clara County, it also includes many other maps for cities and …

Institution: San José Public Library, California Room