|
Useful Links for San Ramon
History of San Ramon- San Ramon is a dynamic young city, one of California's outstanding communities to live in. It has a wide variety of homes, parks and stores and a major employment center in the lush setting of greenery, trees and rolling hills.
San Ramon was once home to the Seunen Indians, Ohlone/Costanoans who lived adjacent to the valley creeks. San Ramon Creek was named after an Indian vaquero, Ramon, who tended mission sheep here. In a land title case in the mid 19th century, it was explained that "San" was added to the creek's name to conform with Spanish custom.
American settlers first came to San Ramon in 1850 when Leo and Mary Jane Norris purchased 4,450 acres of land from Amador. Other early landowners were William Lynch, James Dougherty, and Major Samuel Russell. In 1852 Joel and Minerva Harlan bought land from Norris and built a house on what became the Alameda-Contra Costa County line in 1853.
As with the entire Tri-Valley, agriculture was the basis for San Ramon economy until suburban development began. In 1966 the new Interstate 680 freeway was completed through San Ramon to Dublin. For years a sign "San Ramon Population 100" accurately reflected the number of people in the area, with the whole San Ramon Valley having just over 2000 people for many decades.
The designation "San Ramon Village" first appeared in the 1970 census with a count of 4,084 people, part of a San Ramon Valley population of 25,899. Developers Ken Volk and Bob McClain built the first San Ramon suburban homes close to the county line. In 1970 Western Electric purchased 1,733 acres of the Bishop Ranch and proposed a "new town" complete with a variety of housing, green belts, stores and light industry, placed in the center of San Ramon. Eventually part of the land became new homes and, in 1978, 585 acres became today's Bishop Ranch Business Park, a premier modern office development.
In 1983 San Ramon voters decided overwhelmingly to incorporate as a separate city . A new library, community center, parks and hospital testify to the energy which the new city displayed. Now the new community of Windemere, an east side subdivision of San Ramon , has been incorporated into the city. Windemere has been developed by Brookfield homes, Centex and Lennar. New elementary , middle and high schools have been built and a new state of the art library,community center and the campus for Diablo Valley College moves to this vibrant young subdivision. The face of this brand new area is very diverse and the new census figures should indicate that. All in all, a great, safe community to raise children with a top notch school district.. San Ramon is now developing into a diversity rich community.
|
