PV History Web page

For thousands of years, the Ohlone Indians were the only people who lived in Portola Valley. They were only one of the many Coastonian tribes that lived here. We do not know just when they entered our valley, but we do know that they came on foot and that their coming was part of a very long walk. The walk started in far-off Asia--on the other side of the Pacific Ocean. Some researchers think that the early travelers walked over the frozen Bering Strait. Others think there might have been a land bridge connecting Asia and present day Alaska. These people kept exploring and within a couple of thousand years, they had walked to the farthest part of the land lying to the east of the Bering Strait. They spread out over North American and south American. Some of these people stopped in Portola Valley.
The Ohlones lived in small villages on the shores of the bay. They were called hunters and gatherers because they used what they found around them to help them live their lives.

The first European explorers to arrive in the area over 200 years ago, did so accidentally, in their unsuccessful search for Monterey Bay. Don Gaspar de Portola and his men reportedly walked through present day Portola Valley in 1769.

Spain was a strong country then and had conquered Mexico and also claimed California. Spanish ships sailed up the coast looking for places where they might build settlements. Russian fur traders had also been along our coast during this time looking for seals whose fur they could use. The Spanish wanted to make sure that the Russians didn’t take their land in California.

The King of Spain had an expedition planned which would be led by Captain Gaspar de Portola. He and Father Junipero Serra were sent north from Mexico to find a place to build a mission. The king thought that if they could convert the Indians to the Christian religion it would be a good way to settle the land and hold the land for Spain.

From 1776 for almost 50 years, the Spanish ran the missions. The Spanish grew crops, raised cattle, tanned hides, and made candles from tallow.

For many years the missions were the main centers of life in all of California. The Indians gathered to live and work near them and towns formed around some of the missions. The padres taught the Indians how to grow crops, raise cattle, work with leather and iron and wood, how to make candles and soap and press oil from olives. They learned how to tan hides, shear sheep and build buildings.

Some of the 21 missions in California became rich with large crops, orchards, vineyards, and gardens.

In 1821 Mexico won independence from Spain. Mexico did not want the Indians or Spanish to own land, so in 1833 a law was passed in Mexico. This law took mission lands away from the padres and gave them as land grants to settlers, soldiers, and colonists from Mexico. These grants were usually quite large.

This was called secularization and the padres and Indians had to leave the missions. No one took care of the missions and they began to crumble.

Ormondale School is located on Rancho Corte de Madera which was one of the big land grants. It was located along Skyline south of Woodside covering Searsville Lake and the land south of Menlo Park. There were 13,316 acres in this great ranch. Corte Madera Creek ran through the ranch. The name Corte de Madera meant wood cutting place because of the fine trees found in our valley. It was granted to Domingo Peralta and Maximo Martinez in 1834. They raised cattle, grew crops, tanned hides, and built a hacienda (or house) near where the Portola Valley Garage is today. It was said that there were many fiestas with music and dancing.

The great ranches did not last very long. In 1846, war began between the US and Mexico. Some Californians decided that the area should be independent from Mexico. In June 1846, they declared the “Bear Flag Revolt.” A flag was made out of a flour sack and painted with a grizzly bear and a single star. A piece of red flannel was stuck on to the bottom. In 1848, all of California was declared a state and became part of the United States of America. It is thought that there were about 30 people in Portola Valley at that time. The bear flag is still our state flag.

This is a quote from Andrew Hallidie, a Portola Valley pioneer, telling his feelings about Portola Valley.

“In no more beautiful part of the State could a schoolhouse have been
erected than in this quiet valley of Portola...
“Here the poet could well spend his days, dreaming over the beauties of nature and the gentleness of his surroundings or, the man of affairs,
resting from the activities of business, feel the inspiration from the
poet’s dream modify and soften the rough edges of his everyday life.” Andrew Hallidie, 1894

Many people came to Portola Valley from the eastern part of the United States and from Europe as well. In the 1830s people came here to harvest the redwoods for timber to build houses in San Jose and San Francisco and for mission Santa Clara. They used large two-handed saws.

In the early 1850s, sawmills became big business and crews removed more redwoods to supply wood for houses. By the 1880s, many of the giant trees in Portola Valley were cut down.

Dennis Martin was on the first wagon train to successfully cross the Sierras in 1844. He and his wife bought land in Portola Valley in 1846 and in 1854. They had a ranch and a sawmill.

The town of Searsville by Sand Hill Road and Portola Road existed from 1851 to 1891 and housed people who were here to work in the lumber industry. The Portola Valley School District begun in Searsville in 1861. In 1891 the buildings were torn down or moved and the area was flooded to make a reservoir which is still there today.

Andrew Hallidie moved to the area in 1883. He bought land on Portola Road across from today’s Village Square. His land went all the way to the top of Skyline. He built an area tramway in 1894 which extended 7,341 feet to the top of today’s Old La Honda Road. He is the man who invented the cable cars of San Francisco. It is said that he built the tramway to show people a working demonstration of the use of his idea.

Mr. William O’Brien MacDonough bought the Menlo Stock Farm in 1895, which had been a part of the large rancho granted to Martinez and Peralta. He raised race horses there and named his ranch after the son of Ormonde who was the famous race horse that he had shipped from England. There was a large race track right where Ormondale School is today.

Portola Valley continued to grow as people moved to the valley and built their homes here. In 1964 Portola Valley became a city.

Learn about some historic places in Portola Valley. They are visible and easy to view. Learn more about each by arranging a visit to the Portola Valley archives or by reading some of the books listed below. One particularly good book is titled: The Portola Valley Primer by Nancy Lund. It is available at the Ormondale School Library and the Town Center Library.

Old Spanish Trail Marker	Our Lady of the Wayside Church	Coast Live Oak	1893 School Bell	1909 School House
	Woodside Store
A Horse Named Ormondale	Superintendent’s Office and House	Windmill	The Alpine Inn	Jelich Apple Orchard

This is a marker placed on the Portola Valley Ranch property. It states:
“Here began the main traveled route across the Sierra Morena
Mountains to the coast, used for centuries by the Costano Indians
and, after 1823, by Spaniards, Mexicans, and Americans.
Placed by The Faxon D. Atherton Chapter... 1973
National Society Daughters of the American Revolution,

It marks the beginning of the Old Spanish Trail and winds up Coal Mine Ridge ending near the Pacific Ocean. It was used first by the Ohlones as they walked to the coast to find shellfish. Then by Spanish soldiers from missions as well as by Mexicans as they rode between ranchos. It was used to transport hides and tallow from ranches to ships near the coast. It is said that in 1855 Dr. Tripp from the Woodside Store sent supplies by mule train over the trail to a new store in Pescadero near Half Moon Bay. Most of the road in grown over and buildings stand near it now. Back to Historic Portola Valley Places

The Alpine Beer Garden is located at 3915 Alpine Road. It was built in the 1850’s and served as a gambling retreat and meeting place for Mexican people who lived here. It was located on one of the earliest trails used both by rancheros and the American settlers crossing the Peninsula to the coast. It has been in continuous use as a roadhouse and saloon for all the years since 1850.

There is a marker placed at the entrance which reads: This structure built by Felix Buelna in the 1850s served as a gambling retreat and meeting place for Mexican-Californios. It was strategically located on the earliest trail used by both rancheros and American settlers crossing the peninsula to the coast and served this remote area. Acquired by America in 1868, it has continued to serve under various names as a roadhouse and saloon. Back to Historic Portola Valley Places

Ormonde was the most famous race horse of the 19th century. He was born in 1883 in England. In 1889 he was sold and put on a boat to be shipped to a ranch in Argentina, South America. In 1893, Mr. William MacDonough of Portola Valley, an heir to a fortune made during the Gold Rush, bought Ormonde for $150,000. He spend another $25,000 to bring him by boat to his ranch in Portola Valley. One of Ormonde’s foals, born in 1903, was born at the ranch and was named Ormondale. Our school, named after Ormondale, occupies the place where the race track of Mr. Macdonough’s ranch was located. Back to Historic Portola Valley Places

The bell was moved in 1893 from the abandoned Searsville School to the new little white schoolhouse which was built in 1909. You can see it near the Portola Valley Library next to the little white school house today. Back to Historic Portola Valley Places

The school house was built in 1909 from wood of nearby redwood trees. It was used from 1909 to 1950. It also served as the first town hall for Portola Valley when it was incorporated in 1975. Back to Historic Portola Valley Places

The superintendent’s house and office is located at 451 Portola Road. In 1914, a large estate named Lauriston was built. The imaginative turret style building was built in the 1920’s for the man who was in charge of helping to build the estate. It was built of rock gathered from the adjacent creek bed. Back to Historic Portola Valley Places

The windmill stands at 380 Portola Road. A well was dug and the wind mill was built in 1917 for the Fitzhug property. The windmill is covering a well pump that is no longer in use. Back to Historic Portola Valley Places

Mr. Jelich came to Portola Valley in the early 1900s from Yugoslavia. He planted an apple orchard which is located at 638 Portola Road. Back to Historic Portola Valley Places

Our Lady of the Wayside Church is located at 930 Portola Road. It was built in 1912. This was one of the first Catholic churches in the area. Mission Dolores in San Francisco was used as the inspiration for the church. Back to Historic Portola Valley Places

1832 El Corte de Madera Rancho granted to Maximo Martinez and Domingo Peralta

1846 About 40 people live in Portola Valley

1850s Felix Buelna opens the Alpine Inn (known as Casa de Tableta)

1852 The town of Searsville begins to serve loggers in the area

1854 Woodside Store opens in Woodside

1855 Small coal mine starts on Coal Mine Ridge

1859 Stagecoach route from Redwood City to Searsville begins

1860 About 400 people live in this area. About half are Spanish-speaking

1861 Portola Valley School District starts at town of Searsville

1889 50 children at Searsville School

1895 MacDonough buys ranch which is eventually named
Ormondale Ranch

1906 Earthquake offsets fault as much as 12 feet

1909 Little white school house built

1912 Our lade of the Wayside Church built

1914 Superintendent’s house for Will Brook Farm built on Portola Road

1916 Estimated population of Portola Valley is 225

1917 Fitzhugh windmill built

1920 Skyline Boulevard construction begins

1924 Westridge Drive laid out

1928 Los Trancos Woods subdivision begins

1947 Westridge subdivision created

1951 Construction of modern classrooms begun at Portola School for 149 students

1956 Village Square constructed
Christ Church construction begins

1957 Woodside Priory founded
Construction begins on Corte Madera School

1958 Alpine Hills Tennis and Swim Club opens

1960 Population 2,163

1961 Ormondale School construction begins

1964 Portola Valley becomes a town

1969 Population is 3,575

1974 Population is 4,000

1974 Portola Valley Ranch subdivision begins

1976 Portola Valley Town Center takes over from
Portola Valley Schools

1979 Windy Hill Open Space Preserve

1987 Population is 4,371

2002 Population is 4400 people living in 1500 households.

There is so much to learn about our town and state government today. For a quick summary of Portola Valley History, click here.

If you could go back in time, to which period above would you like to go to and why? Go to the linked web sites to find out more about each period.

How do you feel about Portola Valley? Write a paragraph or poem that future generations might read telling how you feel about living in Portola Valley.

Pick one of the time frames above and pretend that you are one of the people living at that time. Research the time period and write entries into a journal as if you were living during that time in history.

Research the costumes of that era, design several that people of that time period would wear.

Visit places in our valley that are older than 100 years. Find out more information about your favorite site by using the linked web sites or by visiting the
town archives. The Portola Valley Archives are located in Room 1 of the Town Center. Much information is on file there. Call the Town Hall and ask to make an appointment to visit.

What would you pack on board your prairie schooner? The year is 1860 and you’re moving to Portola Valley from your home in the east. You have a covered wagon bed which is about 4 feet wide and 10 to 12 feet long. You must include everything which you’ll need to start up your new home in Portola Valley. Woodside Store was built in Woodside in 1854 to service the lumbering community so you would have a place to buy some supplies when you arrived.

Write math problems using the time line

Find out about the development and zoning plans for Portola Valley. What is
your vision for the future of Portola Valley?

Interview members of the Town Council to find out more about how the government of Portola Valley works.

Write a letter to the mayor and tell him your wishes for our town.

Bibliography

Caughey, John. California’s Own History. The Century School Book Press. San Francisco, 1965

Stanger, Frank. Sawmills in the Redwoods: Logging on the San Francisco Peninsula. San Mateo County Historical Association, San Mateo. 1967

Lund, Nancy. The Portola Valley Primer. Lisbet Nilson, editor. 1966.

Telfer, Dorothy. The Story of Portola Valley and the Neighbors. Instructional Materials from Portola Valley School District. 1964.

Goodman, Marian. San Mateo County--Its Story. Goodman Publishing Company. Redwood City. 1967.