Fremont Is Overwhelmingly Exciting

Fremont, California was not made a city until January 23, 1956, but the area has been an active member in the development of California since 1797. I wanted to ofcus on the area that would become Fremont, because, despite not being an actual city until much later, the area, was extremely important in the development of San Francisco and the modern day Bay Area.
It was in 1797 that Father Fermin de Lasuen built Mission San Jose and began to colonize the surrounding Ohlone land. The mission was very successful growing to reach a population of over a thousand by 1831, however three years later the Mission’s influence began to decline.
In 1836 Mexico won it’s independence from Spain and began administering large tracts of land to reward people for their efforts in the war. This redistribution of the land began the Rancho era, which lasted, for the Fremont region, until the beginning of the Gold Rush. The Ohlone people were further displaced, some moving to work on the Ranchos, a few went back to their land, but most moved off to Indian settlements elsewhere.
In 1848 the discovery of Gold brought thousands of miners from all across the country. The miners built farms of their own and shipped much of their produce to San Francisco. Their overwhelming presence began to cut in on the rancho owners land, ending this way of life for the area. The main crops were grapes, olives, and nursery plants. Palmdale Winery was the largest in California. During this time a large group of Mormons moved to the East Bay from San Francisco, many of which would finally settle in Fremont.
The pioneers who settled here were incredibly successful and the land flourished. The East bay was the most successful agricultural area during the time of the Gold Rush. San Francisco was able to function with the produce acquired from the Fremont and surrounding areas.
Mission San Jose became a supply center for the miners on their way to San Francisco and because of its success eight towns developed around the mission---the main focus being to supply San Francisco and the miners during the Gold Rush. In the Irvington district of Fremont a saloon was built, which would later become the site of Fremont’s first college years later.
The railroads were important to the development of the Bay Area and Fremont was a cornerstone in connecting the major cities. The little town of Niles became an important junction between San Francisco and also in going down to Santa Cruz. The neighboring town of Newark became famous for the Center Rail cars which they manufactured there. With the opening of the railroads, supplies could be sent north to San Francisco much faster than by boat or by wagon. As a result businesses continued to flourish and people could now commute to work in San Francisco and Oakland from the Fremont and surrounding areas.
The development of the area continued even after the Gold Rush had died down. Each of the towns built their own stores, churches, and schools. Orchards and vineyards popped up to replaced the field of grain that had previously held prominence, until prohibition effectively wiped out the Bay Area wine industry south of Napa. Fremont no longer held the powerful hand in wine production it once had.
Between 1912 and 1916, the town of Niles was the center of the film industry in California. Charles Chaplin made films there for a few years. His biggest film to be made in the area was the “The Tramp.”
Today Fremont is one of the fastest growing cities in the Bay Area and currently the fourth most populated. In 2004, Fremont had the largest Afghan population in California. The Oakland A’s will be moving to Fremont in the years coming; however as someone who grew up there: It is mostly unimpressive.

http://www.missionsanjose.org/
http://www.ci.fremont.ca.us/AboutFremont/History/default.htm
http://www.museumoflocalhistory.org/pages/wineries.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fremont,_California