Loading map...

1889 Map of San Jose

Name: 1889 Topographic Map of San Jose
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1946
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1946

About this map

San Jose and the surrounding Santa Clara Valley appear here during a period of agricultural dominance, before the suburban sprawl of the twentieth century. The grid of the city center is flanked by outlying settlements like Willow Glen, East San Jose, and Campbell, while the northern landscape is defined by the marshy reaches of Coyote Creek and Alviso Slough. A network of rail lines, including the Southern Pacific R. R. and the San Jose Branch, crisscrosses the valley floor, highlighting the importance of transit for the region's burgeoning economy.

Social and civic institutions are prominently marked, including the Asylum near Agnew and the Santa Clara Co. Alms House, providing a window into the era's public welfare infrastructure. The map also records numerous Spanish land grant boundaries, such as Tularcitos and Yerba Buena, which remained significant property markers decades after the American transition. To the east, the terrain rises sharply into the Los Buellis Hills and toward Monument Peak, framing the fertile valley below.