Laserfiche WebLink
<br />DPR 523L (Rev. 1/1995)(Word 9/2013) <br />State of California Natural Resources Agency Primary# <br />DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI # <br /> Trinomial <br />CONTINUATION SHEET <br />Property Name: 493 St. John Street <br />Page 6 of 11 <br /> <br />A photograph on 493 St. John Street from 1951 (Museum on Main). <br /> <br /> <br />The house at 493 St. John Street in 1982 (Museum on Main). <br /> <br /> <br />*B10. Significance, Continued: <br /> <br />Originally called Alisal, the Pleasanton area remained sparsely populated in the 1850s, but news of the <br />impending arrival of the railroad initiated an organized town development and an increase in population <br />in the 1860s. The 1860s subdivisions along the axes of Main Street and the railroad formed the core of the <br />Pleasanton town site. <br />The arrival of the Central Pacific Railroad sparked a commercial, agricultural, and residential boom <br />in Pleasanton as the community gained greater access to the major regional urban markets of San <br />Francisco and Oakland. Between the 1870s and World War II, Pleasanton became a major regional <br />supplier of commodity crops like grain, livestock, and agricultural products like hay. Local farmers <br />and later major corporate agricultural interests grew or raised grass crops, hops, feed and table grains, <br />market fruits and vegetables, wine grapes, sugar beets, and dairy cows. Pleasanton became a major <br />regional shipping center for grain and hay, as well as a local leader in viticulture. The community also <br />became nationally and internationally known as a center of horse breeding and training by the late