510-796-0663
34600 Ardenwood Boulevard 
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A visit to 200-acre Ardenwood Historic Farm is a journey back to the Victorian era. Originally the home of gold miner and sharecropper George Patterson, the farm has been beautifully restored and includes a wide, groomed lawn suitable for picnics and weddings. The Patterson House, open for guided tours, has been restored to its 1890s grandeur. Park staff and volunteers, dressed in Victorian costumes, demonstrate farm chores. Visitors can help with the crops, visit the farm animals, ride a hay wagon or horse-drawn train, and observe a blacksmith at work. A cafeteria is available.
Open Tuesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Demonstrations and activities take place Thursday through Sunday only. More information on Ardenwood Historic Farm. |
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510-791-4196
34600 Ardenwood Boulevard
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Nestled on the 200-acre Ardenwood Historic Farm, stands the elaborate Victorian mansion and former home of George Washington Patterson, his wife Clara, and their sons Henry and William. The Patterson House, which has been restored – complete with garden and gazebo, was considered to be "the most handsome house in the township in 1898" according to the 1898 Washington Press. House tours are available from April to mid-November and during December events. Limited tours are conducted Thursday through Sunday. Tickets are available at the Train Station on a first come, first served basis. More information on the Patterson House. |
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Post Street and Bonde Avenue
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Recognized as an official state cemetery in 1859, the cemetery was started in the 1850s and the first burials occurred between 1853 and 1856. Some of Fremont's most well-known names are on the gravestones, including Herman Eggers and Roger Blacow. Other early pioneers include Captain Caleb Cook Scott, a native of Nova Scotia, who sailed his way around the Horn of Magellan in South America on his way to a new life in the Bay Area, and settled along side the Alameda creek near Niles.
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On Saturday morning, May 29, 1909, the first steam-powered passenger train into Centerville received a hearty welcome. A cannon was fired, the locomotive was decorated with flags, and the train crew was presented with Centerville's choicest fruits and flowers. A year later, the Southern Pacific Railroad completed a new wood depot in September of 1910. The depot was built as a variation of what Southern Pacific called its "One Story Combination Depot No. 23." The Centerville depot was constructed at the height of popularity of rail travel, at a time when Southern Pacific trains provided a nearly universal web of transportation throughout California. |
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For thirty years, the depot hosted passenger trains operating between Oakland, San Jose, Santa Cruz, Stockton, and even Redwood City for a few years. From 1910 through the early 1920's, the station served two or three daily milk trains, carrying the area's milk and cream to dairies in San Jose and Oakland. Local residents used the depot to commute to work, out-of-town relatives stepped off the train to visit, and immigrants arrived from the East Coast to begin new lives. Southern Pacific officially retired the depot on September 30, 1961, fifty-one years after it was opened. On June 4, 1993, Fremont welcomed the return of passenger trains to the Centerville station after an absence of 53 years.
In December of 1993, the City of Fremont acquired ownership of the depot itself and began to plan its restoration. Of more than sixty "No. 23"-style depots constructed by Southern Pacific between 1896 and 1916, less than a dozen exist today and the Centerville depot is the only one used in rail passenger service.
Depot hours are:
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39169 Fremont Boulevard (in the Fremont HUB)
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Once a part of the old Chadbourne Ranch, the Carriage House is reminiscent of the 19th- century horse and buggy days. This house and the surrounding Williams Historical Park were donated to the City by Burdette Williams in 1960.
The Williams Historical Park and Chadbourne Carriage House have been the home of the Candle Lighters' annual Halloween fundraiser every October since 1969.
The park grounds are open to the public daily throughout the year. |
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Rancho Higuera Historical Park, 47300 Rancho Higuera Road
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Higuera Adobe, located at the foot of Mission Peak in the Warm Springs area of Fremont, is the last of seven adobes built in 1840 on Fulgencio Higuera's ranch. The structure consists of a large main room and two small bedrooms with dirt floors, and a stable. The adobe has been restored and furnished with handcrafted redwood furniture. Available for visits to view the exterior. |
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330 Stanford Avenue
California Historical Landmark No. 642
Leland Stanford–railroad builder, Governor of California, United States Senator, and founder of Stanford University–founded this winery in 1869, which was originally the site of the fashionable resort for wealthy San Franciscans in the 1850s, the Warm Springs Hotel. The vineyard, planted by his brother Josiah Stanford, helped to prove that wines equal to any in the world could be produced in California.
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510-657-1797
43300 Mission Boulevard
California Historical Landmark No. 334
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Founded in 1797, this was the 14th of twenty-one Spanish missions established in California by troops under Sergeant Pedro Amador and accompanied by Father Fermín Lasuén. The mission opened for daily Mass and tours in 1985 after a four-year reconstruction. The only surviving building from the Spanish period, a monastery, serves as a museum that houses a collection of artifacts, vestments, and memorabilia. The cemetery holds the graves of many prominent Spanish and American settlers.
Open daily, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Group tours are available by appointment only. |
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925-862-9063
Niles Canyon Road at Sunol
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Experience a fascinating interpretation of early California events by taking a train ride on what was known as the Historic Transcontinental Gateway to the San Francisco Bay.
Train rides on the scenic Niles Canyon Railway are offered on the first and third Sunday of each month, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m., year-round (roundtrip takes approximately one hour and five minutes). Tickets are available at the Boarding Station for $10.00/Adults and $5.00/Children ages 3 and up. |
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510-790-5541
1251 Peralta Boulevard
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The buildings in this park represent three generations of ranch family life. Built in 1876 by pioneer and nurseryman James Shinn, the redwood Victorian ranch house is a treasury of authentic furnishings and memorabilia. The cottage, one of the oldest frame houses in the Santa Clara Valley, was built in the 1840s. Surrounding these structures are five acres of beautiful trees, rare plants and shrubs that Shinn collected from all over the world.
The park is open daily, from sunrise to sunset. More information on the Shinn Historic Park and Arboretum. |
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510-795-0891 (Serafino residence - leave message and they will call to schedule a tour)
1241 Peralta Boulevard
Tours are available on the first Wednesday and third Sunday of the month, 1 p.m. – 3 p.m., and by appointment.
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Mission Boulevard and Martingale Drive, Mission San Jose District
Dating back from the early 1900s, this historic site is the resting place for many Mission San Jose pioneers and early settlers.
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Mission Adobe Garden Center & Nursery, 36501 Niles Boulevard
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The adobe was built in 1842 by Jose de Jesus Vallejo for his vaqueros (cowboys) on the Rancho Arroyo de la Alameda. It was renovated in 1932 by the California Nursery Company as a tearoom, where they entertained guests and clients, and used it as the company logo with pride. It is now part of the California Nursery Historical Park. Available for visits to view the exterior. More information on Vallejo Adobe. |
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Vallejo Mill Historical Park
NE Corner of Niles Canyon Road and Mission Boulevard
California Historical Landmark No. 46
In 1853, José de Jesús Vallejo, brother of General M. G. Vallejo, built a flour mill here, on his Rancho Arroyo de la Alameda. The Niles district was once called "Vallejo Mills". The stone aqueduct was built to carry water for the mills parallel to Niles Canyon Road.
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