Our History... going way back!

  • Pre-history: Sabre Toothed Cats, Irvington Camels, and Mammoths roam the area now known as Fremont
  • More modern history: The Ohlone people, also referred to as Costanoans, call the area of Fremont and surrounding areas home
  • 1797: Spaniard Father Fermin de Lasuen founded Mission San Jose, the 14th California Mission
  • 1846: John C. Fremont, “The Great Pathfinder” and our City’s namesake, mapped a trail through Mission Pass
  • 1853: Washington Township was established and included the communities of Mission San Jose, Centerville, Niles, Irvington, and Warm Springs
  • 1869: Leland Stanford Vineyards begin operation
  • 1869: History is made in Niles when the last of the tracks connecting the transcontinental railroad from the Atlantic to the Pacific are laid
  • 1871: Washington College of Science and Industry is built
  • 1881: Don Juan Gallegos buys land in the area now known as Irvington and Mission San Jose and begins his winery project - uncovering a great array of fossils!
  • 1884: Gallegos Winery is built
  • 1892: Gallegos Winery purchased, changed to Palmdale Company
  • 1906: The Great SF Earthquake destroys Gallegos/Palmdale Winery
  • 1912-1916: Niles district is home to the earliest Californian motion picture industry, and to Charlie Chaplin
  • 1941: The Irvingtonian Era (1.8 Million BP to 340K BP) is named after the Irvington District of Fremont
  • 1945: Weibel family purchases the Stanford Winery
  • 1955: The City of Newark incorporates
  • 1956: Under the leadership of Wally Pond, Centerville, Irvington, Mission San Jose, Niles and Warm Springs townships combine to form the City of Fremont
  • 1959: The City of Union City Incorporates
  • 1962: Central Park officially opens
  • 1963: General Motors Plant (later NUMMI, and now Tesla) opens
  • 1964: The Pathfinders Day Parade begins, named after John C. Fremont, “The Great Pathfinder”
  • 1969: Lake Elizabeth Officially opens
  • 1972: BART Fremont Station opens
  • 1996: Weibel relocates winery operations to Woodbridge, CA
  • 1998: City of Fremont begins hosting annual 4th of July Parade
  • 2001: Budget cutbacks force City of Fremont to cease hosting annual 4th of July Parade, citizens take over the responsibility of running the parade
  • 2006: Citizens come together to produce "Celebrate Fremont" - a two day event to commemorate Fremont's 50th Anniversary!
  • 2010: Tesla purchases the NUMMI Plant (Originally GM Plant)
  • 2012: Fremont City Council greenlights Fremont's new Downtown Community Plan.
  • 2017: Warms Springs BART station opens
  • 2018: We celebrate Fremont 4th of July Parade's 20th Anniversary!!!

Great local resources

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Children's Natural History Museum

A great local resource for information!

Children's Natural History Museum
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Washington Township Museum of Local History

Great in depth information and resources!

Museum of Local History

And the City of Fremont HISTORY PAGE.

ATTENTION
No backpacks allowed at the parade. During this and other Fremont events, be aware of your surroundings and report suspicious activity. "If you see something, say something." If you see suspicious behavior or situations, do not confront the individuals involved. You can (1) Call the Fremont Police Department at (510) 790-6800, option 3 (2) TEXT-A-TIP to FREMONTPD (3) or send an email to fremontpolice@fremont.gov. In any emergency, call 9-1-1. Please remember that it is impossible to identify a terrorist by appearance, nationality, and language.