Go Over The Mountain

The Mexican land grant of Rancho Pastoria de las Borregas was given in 1842 by Alta California Governor Juan Alvarado to Francisco Estrada. This grant was later passed on to Mariano Castro, who sold half of the land to Martin Murphy Jr. Eventually, the former land grant was developed as the cities of Mountain View and Sunnyvale.

The southwest shore of San Francisco Bay was settled by European-Americans in 1852 as a stagecoach station. This was after the United States acquired California. By the early 1900s, it was a shipping point for fruit and grain, as well as a center of religious book publishing.[13]

It was known as the major center of Fremont Township before the first California census for Santa Clara County, conducted in 1852. [Fremont township is bounded on the north by San Mateo County and a portion of the bay of San Francisco; on the east by Alviso and Santa Clara townships; on the south by Redwood township, and on the west by San Mateo county.] It preceded the development of Mayfield and Palo Alto. Mountain View Station, officially named in 1864, had its beginnings earlier as a stagecoach stop on the route between San Francisco and San Jose, including the Butterfield Overland Mail. Incorporated on November 7, 1902. Phyllis Ave. & El Camino Real of today, was closer to what was once the original town center and its San Jose Road. The Fremont township population was about 560 by 1860, less Mayfield Post office section, which began north of present San Antonio Road. In its early years, the town's economy was based on agriculture. Agriculture remained the primary industry into the middle of the 20th century.