Alviso is located at the northern most point of the City of San Jose. The Guadalupe River (which drains the Santa Cruz Mountains), and Coyote Creek (which drains the Diablo Range), both travel north through Santa Clara Valley were they meet the San Francisco Bay at Alviso Slough. The marsh lands around Alviso are home to many species of birds and fish. This resource rich area provided excellent hunting and fishing for the indiginous Tamien people. Alviso Mills, founded in 1853, at its peak produced up to 300 barrels of flour a day. As wheat production in the San Joaquín Valley grew, production in the Santa Clara Valley waned in favor of fruit production, and the Alviso Mills closed in 1885. In 1906, Sai Yin Chew opened the Bayside Canning Company in Alviso. Chew and his son, Thomas Foon Chew, operated the Chinese run cannery which was known for paying generous wages and employing exclusively Chinese and Chinese Americans until the 1920s. Products canned in Alviso included spinach, asparagus, cherries, apricots, plums, peaches, pears, tomatoes, catsup, tomato sauce, hot sauce, tomato puree, fish sauce, and fruit cocktail. At its peak the Bayside Canning Company was the 3rd largest cannery in the United States. Thomas Foon Chew died in 1931 and the cannery was sold in 1936. During The Depression Alviso was uncivil and became well known for its dance halls and gambling establishments. In the 1960s and 70s a small independent boat building community called Alviso home. Fondly as I remember I spent many afternoons after school in the sloughs hanging out with my friend as his dad owned The Alviso Boat Works Co. The rapid growth of the Santa Clara Valley directly contributed to the many floods in Alviso. The Guadalupe River had significant floods in 1862, 1895, 1911, 1955, 1958, 1963, 1969, 1982, 1986 and 1995. The severity and frequency of these floods led to plans and advancements in water control and treatment. In 1956 the Santa Clara County Water Pollution Control Plant was built just east of Alviso on Los Esteros Road.
Posted on: Fri, 24 Oct 2014 09:52:25 +0000
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015