SAN JOSE

city, seat (1850) of Santa Clara County, west-central California, U.S. It lies in the Santa Clara Valley along the Coyote and Guadalupe rivers, 50 miles (80 km) southeast of San Francisco. The first civic settlement in California, it was founded by Jos Joaquin Moraga in 1777 as a Spanish military-supply base and was named Pueblo de San Jos de Guadalupe. During the Spanish colonial and Mexican periods it supplied wheat, vegetables, and cattle to the military garrisons at Monterey and San Francisco. After the American occupation of California in 1846, San Jose briefly became the new state's first capital, and the first state legislative assembly convened there in December 1849. (The state capital was moved to Vallejo in 1852.) In 1850 San Jose became the first chartered city in California, by which time it had become a bustling trade depot for the goldfields. In 1864 the coming of the railroad from San Francisco gave San Jose improved trade connections and enabled the produce of nearby farms to be readily shipped to San Francisco. The Santa Clara Valley thus soon developed into a fruit-growing region specializing in plums and apricots. Until 1940 most of the city's industries were concerned with dried-fruit processing and the manufacture of orchard supplies and agricultural equipment. During and after World War II, however, there was a meteoric growth in its manufacture of such durable goods as electrical machinery, aircraft parts, and motor vehicles. Large aerospace and business-equipment firms located plants in the area, and the rise of the computer-manufacturing centre known as Silicon Valley farther north in the Santa Clara Valley meant a spectacular burst of growth for San Jose. The city annexed land at a rapid rate, and during the period from 1960 to 1980 its population more than tripled. The city is still a processing and distribution centre for a rich agricultural area producing fruit and wine, while its extremely diverse industries include the manufacture of electronic, computer, and aerospace components; auto parts; food-processing machinery; and a variety of household and consumer goods. The city continues to develop with the urban growth of the San Francisco Bay area. Among the city's cultural attractions are the Municipal Rose Garden, the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum, and the municipal recreation area known as Alum Rock Park. The University of Santa Clara and Stanford University are nearby. San Jose State University was established in 1857 and San Jose City (junior) College in 1921. Pop. (1990) city, 782,248; San Jose PMSA, 1,497,577.