Changing Landscape

Changing Landscape. . Over time, different groups of people changed the landscape to meet their needs. The once wide open valley and its large lagoon have been transformed into smaller parcels with new uses for a growing population. Today’s seven acre park is a vestige of this once vast landscape., When the Ohlone were the predominant stewards over these lands more than 5000 years ago, this was as open land with a tule filled lagoon just to the southeast. After the Spanish crown assigned the land to Mission San Jose in 1797, it became pasturage for over 30,000 head of cattle. By the 1850s, when Francisco Alviso built the original adobe on this hillside, stockraising was still the primary use. Open meadows and oak trees framed the foothills and grassland while the lagoon dominated the valley below. Later farmers drained the lagoon to create more farmland. In the 1920s, the Meadowlark Dairy was built here above the valley floor, taking advantage of natural drainage, air circulation and abundant shade trees. In the late 20th century, suburban development replaced farming and changed the landscape once again. Today’s seven-acre park is a small vestige of this once-vast landscape., Water has been a key factor in the human use of this area for thousands of years. Access to water was vital to settlement and development of the valley area, from Native American settlement up to present day. Water rights became a major issue here in the early 1900s as Bay Area cities sought new sources of fresh water to support their growth.