 On April 24, 2001, San Ramon was received the title Tree City USA
San Ramon was originally home to the Seunen Indians, Ohlone/Costanoans who lived adjacent to the valley creeks. After 1797, it was Mission San Jose grazing land; later it included Jose Maria Amador's 16,000 plus acre Rancho San Ramon.
San Ramon Creek was named after an Indian vaquero, Ramon, who tended mission sheep here. In an 1855 land title case, Don Amador explained that "San" was added to the creek's name to conform with Spanish custom.
American settlers first came to San Ramon in 1850 when Leo and Mary Jane Norris purchased 4,450 acres (18 kmē) of land from Amador. Other early landowners were William Lynch, James Dougherty, and Major Samuel Russell. In 1852 Joel and Minerva Harlan bought land from Norris and built a house on what became the Alameda-Contra Costa County line in 1853.
Many of San Ramon's founding families are remembered today because their names grace various canyons, hills and streets. Some of these pioneers were Norris, Lynch, Harlan, McCamley, Crow, Bollinger, Meese, Glass, and Wiedemann. Both the Harlan home (1858) at 19251 San Ramon Valley Blvd. and the Wiedemann home (1865) near Norris Canyon still stand in their original locations. The Glass House (1877) has been moved to Forest Home Farms.
San Ramon had several names in the nineteenth century. It was called Brevensville (for blacksmith Eli Breven), Lynchville (for William Lynch) and Limerick (for the many Irish settlers). The first village developed at the intersection of today's Deerwood Road and San Ramon Valley Blvd. In 1873 when a permanent post office was finally established, it was called San Ramon.
During the 1860's the village became a hub of community activity. In 1864, a stage line established by Brown and Co. ran from San Ramon through the valley to Oakland. A church was dedicated in 1860, the general store was built in 1863 and students left their home-based classrooms to attend the San Ramon Grammar School beginning in 1867. Saloons, a jail, Chinese wash houses and blacksmith shops lined County Road No. 2 (later San Ramon Valley Blvd.)
With the arrival of the San Ramon Branch Line of the Southern Pacific in 1891, other changes took place. The name "San Ramon" permanently replaced references to "Limerick." Crops and passengers could travel in and out of the area, no matter what the weather. Until 1909, San Ramon was the terminus for the line and boasted a two-story depot, the engine house and a turnaround for the locomotive.
In 1895, attorney Thomas Bishop acquired 3,000 acres (12 kmē) of Norris land (after a divorce case in which Bishop's law firm represented Margaret Norris). The Bishop Ranch raised cattle and sheep and was planted to hay, grain, diversified fruit crops and walnuts. Bishop Shropshire purebred sheep earned numerous awards. The Ranch was partially irrigated from an underground aquifer and at one point possessed the world's largest single orchard of Bartlett pears.
As with the entire Tri-Valley, agriculture was the basis for San Ramon economy until suburban development began. In 1966, the new Interstate 680 freeway was completed through San Ramon to Dublin.
The designation "San Ramon Village" first appeared in the 1970 census with a count of 4,084 people, part of a San Ramon Valley population of 25,899. Developers Ken Volk and Bob McClain built the first San Ramon suburban homes close to the county line. A special district, the Valley Community Services District (VCSD) provided the water, parks, sewer, fire protection and garbage collection for the new homes.
In 1970, Western Electric purchased 1,733 acres (7 kmē) of the Bishop Ranch and proposed a "new town" complete with a variety of housing, green belts, stores and light industry, placed in the center of San Ramon. Eventually part of the land became new homes and, in 1978, 585 acres (2.37 kmē) became today's Bishop Ranch Business Park, a premier modern office development.
Before San Ramon incorporated, homeowners groups such as the South San Ramon Homeowners and the Homeowners Association of Twin Creeks represented residents' interests before the county. They joined service clubs and others in providing a local voice as developments replaced orchards.
In 1983, San Ramon voters decided overwhelmingly to incorporate as a separate city and took control over development, police, parks and other services.
After years of talking, the city of San Ramon agreed on building a new city center that would include two upscale department stores, restaurants, an upscale hotel, movie theater, and apartment housing. It would also include new city offices and a new city hall. It would be located between Bollinger Canyon Road and Camino Ramon. The city council is hoping this will become a new downtown for the city. The total cost is $750 million, being paid by Sunset development. It is scheduled to open sometime in the next few years.
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