In the early 1870s, the population of San Jose was around ten thousand. The city had many large manufacturing plants, but it is also home to many canneries and food-processing centers that feed the nation. The California State Normal School and the University of the Pacific relocated to San Jose in the 1870s.
Below are some stunning historical photos showing San Jose, California, in the 1870s.
#1 Santa Clara Street between First and Market, 1871
#2 First St., looking north from El Dorado (Post), 1875
#3 Oldest view of Mission San Jose de Guadalupe in San Jose, 1876
#4 San Antonio Street, San Jose, 1876
San Antonio Street, looking east from Second Street to the State Normal School building, in 1876. The First Baptist Tabernacle is at the left with Temple Bikur Cholim, a Jewish synagogue, beyond. At the right of the photograph is the First Congregational Church. In the center is the original Normal School building, destroyed by fire on February 10, 1880.
#5 State Normal School, San Jose, California, 1875
#6 Auzerais House, looking East, San Jose, 1870
#7 Market Street Chinatown, San Jose, 1872
#8 Continental Hotel, San Jose, 1870
#9 Santa Clara Street San Jose, looking west from First, 1875
#10 Men standing in the middle of the dirt Alameda, with a trolley in the distance, 1870s
#11 St. Joseph’s Church, 1870
#12 Central Pacific Railroad, Niles Canyon, 1875
#13 West Hall, University of the Pacific, 1875
#14 Niles Canyon railroad, 1870s
#15 Santa Clara County Almshouse, formerly O’Toole Farm, 1876
#16 The battle of Mt. Hamiton, 1876
#17 New Almaden, 1879
#18 Horse-drawn wagon being loaded in front of brick building, 1870s
#19 Niles Depot of the Central Pacific Railroad, 1870s
#20 Event in front of Old Court House, 1870s
#21 The Farmers Union in the A. Pfister & Co. Building, 1874
#22 Lick Mill office, 1871
#23 Santa Clara County court house, 1875
#24 Several men and women play croquet on the lawn of the Vendome Hotel, 1871
#25 South First Street, San Jose, 1875
#26 Samuel A. Bishop home, 1870
#27 Oliver Chilled Plows, 1870s
#28 San Jose Adobe Building, 1875
#29 Crew Building Mount Hamilton Road. Headquarters Smith Creek, 1870s
#30 Bray Family at Roseland, Scott Lane, 1872
#31 Highland School Students and Teacher, 1876
#32 Exterior view of the St. James Hotel on First street opposite of St. James Park, 1873
#33 Saint James Hotel, 1873
#34 Fredericksburg Brewery, 1871
#35 Fourth Ward School, 1874
#36 Exterior view of the Mission San Jose de Guadalupe (St. Joseph of Guadalupe), 1870
#37 Old City Hall, San Jose, 1870
Designed by Levi Goodrich, this City Hall was constructed in 1855 at what later became 35 North Market Street. It was a two-story brick structure with council chambers on the ground floor and two small rooms and an assembly hall upstairs. The county leased the second floor as a courtroom for a short time but the lease was not renewed in 1862 because the city needed the space. In the 1890s the building was converted to a fire station and the castellations were removed. The building was demolished in 1951
#38 View to the west, 1870
In the center is the home of Captain Thomas Fallon, who raised the American flag over San José in 1846. To the left is the Peralta Adobe, the only pre-1800 structure still remaining in the city. The Louis Pellier home and City Gardens Nursery can be seen to the right, the site of today's Pellier Park.
Stunning, one neat trick.