Places

Four miles south of downtown San José there is a small group of hills rising up from the floor of the Santa Clara Valley. At no more than 400 feet, they are just high enough to break up the flatness of the land, and to give people and animals standing atop them a sweeping vista of the valley.

The Santa Clara Valley came into existence some 10,000 years ago, around the same time the first people arrived here. Until the turn of the twentieth century, these hills in the middle of the valley were home to many more animals, insects, and birds than people.

The Spaniards named the hills for Saint John the Baptist, but the area would have many names over the next 200 years. Americans began to parcel out the land in the hills by surveying it and creating maps; one section became the town’s cemetery. Tyler Beach began a dairy on his section in the 1850s. And the Azevedo and Bettencourt families continued this work into the twentieth century. The hill’s contours changed somewhat during these years, to accommodate the railroad and the growth of San José.

Until the twenty-first century, the most notable residents of Dairy Hill were its cows. In 2004, the land was transformed into a residential community with a variety of housing options, a park and children’s play area, and walking trail.

Learn about the Valley's Natural History