Historical Marker · No. 800
Arroyo de San Joseph Cupertino
Cupertino, Santa Clara County · California
Erected by the State Department of Parks and Recreation in cooperation with the Cupertino Historical Society, Inc., 1968
The bronze has Spanish explorers discover this creek in 1769; the Thámien Ohlone already lived along it. Pedro Font, the expedition's chaplain, named it in 1776 for his patron, Joseph of Cupertino, a friar remembered for rising off the ground at prayer. The creek did not keep the name: Elisha Stephens settled on it in 1848, and it became Stevens Creek. The saint went to the town instead. John T. Doyle, whose winery lands reached this road, used Cupertino for the post office on his property, and by 1904 it had replaced West Side.
What the plaque says
Arroyo de San Joseph Cupertino This arroyo honoring San Joseph, patron saint of flight and students, was first discovered and traversed by Spanish explorers in 1769. On March 25-26, 1776 Colonel Juan Bautista de Anza made it his encampment No. 93, as mapped by his cartographer Padre Pedro Font, before continuing on to the San Francisco Bay Area where he initiated steps to found a colony, a mission and a presidio. California Registered Historical Landmark No. 800 Plaque placed by the State Department of Parks and Recreation in cooperation with the Cupertino Historical Society, Inc., May 29, 1968.
Where it stands
37.31545, -122.05767 · Directions
More markers nearby
- Paul Masson Mountain Winery — 3.8 mi
- Gubserville — 4.1 mi
- Saratoga — 4.2 mi
- Moreland School — 4.4 mi