Communications Hill in San Jose in Santa Clara County, California — The American West (Pacific Coastal)

History of Vieira Park

Photographed by Andrew Ruppenstein, August 19, 2020

1. History of Vieira Park Marker

Inscription. The Vieira family and their ancestors have owned and lived on Communications Hill since 1896, when José Azevedo purchased nearly a hundred acres of ranch land on the San Juan Bautista hills in the middle of Santa Clara Valley. José was a portuguese immigrant from São Jorge Island in the nine-island Azores archipelago. In 1903, José married Senhorinha Dos Almos, also an immigrant from São Jorge. Together they had four children; two sons, José and Julio, died as infants. José himself died of influenza just a month after paying the balance of their debt on the ranch in 1915. Senhorinha never remarried. She raised her two daughters, Mary Helen and Adeline, living off the land.

In 1924, Mary Helen married Joseph Machado, an immigrant from Faial Island in the Azores. Joseph built a little house at the corner of Hillsdale and Narvaez in which they lived for more than forty years. Mary Helen and Joseph had their only daughter, Dolores, fifteen years after they were married. The couple worked in the canneries of Santa Clara valley until they retired. Adeline married John Mello and adopted their daughter Marilyn, raising

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her Mary Helen and Joseph on the ranch as well.

In 1958, Dolores married Batista S. Vieira, an immigrant from São Jorge Island, as had been her maternal grandparents. Batista worked as a dairy milker before they were married; he milked cows at a dairy on the north side of Communications Hill. Batista and Dolores chose to live on the ranch and raise their children there as well. When Batista's and Dolores son Davide was born, four generations were living on the ranch. On the day after Davide's sixth birthday in 1965, ninety-five year old senhorinha died on the ranch where she had lived for sixty-two years - fifty of them as a widow.

Life continued on the ranch. Batista was making a living in the construction trades. After a few years as a foreman for a painting company, he and Dolores started one of their own in 1963. Batista and Dolores went on to have another son, Joseph, in 1966. After a long illness, Dolores' mother, Mary Helen, died in 1971. Later that year, Batista and Dolores moved from the ranch to reside near better schools for Davide and Joseph. The flat portion of the ranch was leased for an upscale mobile home

History of Vieira Park Marker - wide view image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Andrew Ruppenstein, August 19, 2020

2. History of Vieira Park Marker - wide view

park in the mid-1970's. Davide began his professional career at one of the valley's pioneering high tech companies in 1981.

Batista and Dolores struck a deal with KB Home for the upper acreage of the ranch and the development of Tuscany Hills in 2004. Thirty acres of the original hundred purchased by José Azevedo in 1896 remain the property of the Vieira family. Vieira Park commemorates four generations of a family's life; from ranching, to canneries, to construction and the high tech industry. The Vieira family's history parallels that of the Santa Clara Valley, their home for more than a hundred years.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Parks & Recreational Areas • Settlements & Settlers. A significant historical year for this entry is 1896.

Location. 37° 17.228′ N, 121° 51.685′ W. Marker is in San Jose, California, in Santa Clara County. It is in Communications Hill. It can be reached from the intersection of Grassina Street and Altino Street. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 2988 Grassina Street, San Jose CA 95136, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally,

Photographed by Andrew Ruppenstein, August 19, 2020

3. Vieira Park

The marker is located in the plaza at the top of these stairs.

this marker is in California’s San Francisco Bay Area,

in Silicon Valley,

and on the Coast Ranges.

It is also on the American Pacific Coast.

Globally, it is in North America,

on the Ring of Fire,

on the Pacific Rim,

in the Western Hemisphere,

in the Western World,

and in the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain

and also Mexico’s Alta California.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Dr. John Townsend (approx. ¾ mile away); George Donner, Jr. (approx. 0.8 miles away); Jean Jacques Vioget (approx. 0.8 miles away); William Henry Eddy (approx. 0.8 miles away); Charles Henry McKiernan (approx. 0.9 miles away); Dr. Louis H. and Anna M. (Grandma) Bascom (approx. 0.9 miles away); Montgomery Maze (approx. 0.9 miles away); Margaret Caldwell Fox (approx. 0.9 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in San Jose.

Credits. This page was last revised on February 7, 2023. It was originally submitted on August 20, 2020, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California. This page has been viewed 1,310 times since then and 88 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on August 20, 2020, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California.