About Santa Clara County:

Santa Clara County was one of the original counties of California, formed in 1850 at the time of statehood. Part of the county's territory was given to Alameda County in 1853. The County Seat is San Jose. It has a population of 1,682,585. It is the 14th largest county in the nation. It is a part of the Silicon Valley. The following cities are a part of this county: Alviso, Campbeel, Coyote, Cupertino, Gilroy, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Los Gatos, Mipitas, Monte Sereno, Morgan Hill, Mount Hamiliton, Mountain View, New Almaden, Palo Alto, Redwood Estates, San Jose, San Martin, Santa Clara, Saratoga, Sunnyvale.

The county is named after Mission Santa Clara, which was established in 1777, and named for Saint Clare of Assisi, Italy. The name "Clare", or "Clara" means "clear" or "bright."

The county is bordered to the north-west by San Mateo County, to the south-west by Santa Cruz County, to the north by Alameda County, to the east by Stanislaus County, to the south-east by Merced County, and to the south by San Benito County.

The San Andreas Fault runs along the Santa Cruz Mountains in the south of the county.

Prayer Focus for Santa Clara County:

1. Pray for strong relationships to develop between pastors, and for unified and purposeful pastoral prayer groups. Pray for deepening of relationships between the pastors and for the Lord to pour out favor and blessing on their relationships. Ask God for a John 17 revelation for oneness for pastors and believers. Pray that unity leads to strategic action from these groups.

2. Prayer mobilization: Ask Jesus to develop prayer groups in all of this counties cities and to begin to revival the churches who are praying and link them together. Ask God to link us together and grant a willing spirit to prayer leaders in the various congregations to join together in concerted, strategic prayer for this county.

3. Pray for a deepening revelation of the work of Christ on the cross and for a fresh infilling with the Holy Spirit that leads to personal transformation of the hearts of the believers in Santa Clara County. We believe this personal transformation will lead to congregational transformation and then community transformation. Pray for the multiplication of new believers, leaders and churches that leads to societal transformation.

4. Ask Jesus to help believers to be "Ambassadors where they are planted" so that the gospel penetrates every aspect of life in this County. Ask Jesus to give each believer a heart to take spiritual responsibility and to be a worker in whatever harvest field He has placed them in.

5. Pray for Christian marriages to be a witness of life in Christ. Pray for marriage to be affirmed and protected in this County. Pray for fruitfulness in those marriages.

6. Pray for a Joshua Generation to rise up in our Youth who will love and take this land for the Lord! Ask God to light a fire in the hearts for young people in this County. Pray that the older generation will encourage and mentor youth into leadership positions. Ask Jesus to anoint this new generation to rise up and take their role and place and execute the call and Lord's redemptive purpose for their lives.

7. Pray for Schools and the Educational System to become open to Christ. Ask God to protect the hearts and minds of our students and preserve them for Jesus. Ask Jesus to raise up parents who will pray for and bless students in our schools.

8. Decrease in unemployment and the creation of new jobs. Pray for a release of entrepreneurial energy that leads to the creation of new businesses that are sustainable. Ask God to provide for believers, many of whom are being "priced out" of the county by the high cost of housing and living.

9. Decrease of crime: Murder, Teen Pregnancy, Abortion, Domestic Violence, drugs. Youth/Gangs - Pray for a revelation of the Father's Heart and a spirit of adoption for youth using Malachi 4:6. Pray for the church to engage these youth and families with the transforming gospel.

10. Pray through Isaiah 62 for this and all Bay Area Counties. We believe this scripture is a special promise to the bay area - that all nations will see His glory and that salvation will go forth into all the gateways of the cities of the bay.

Biblical Prayer for Prayer Agreement based on Heb 8:10-12/ 2 Chron 7:14:

“We invite Christ Jesus as the creator of heaven and earth to restore fallen man to His New Testament Covenant relationship in California, by coming and writing His law on our hearts and minds, and upon the hearts and minds of the civic and spiritual leaders in the county of Santa Clara County. We ask, O God, that you would reveal yourself and your salvation to all the citizens of our state, so that from the least to the greatest we would know your mercy and your grace as you blot out our sins and change our hearts. Through agreement with the saving grace of Christ Jesus, by agreement in prayer, we plead His precious blood over the transgressions of our forefathers and our land. We turn to worship Christ Jesus as the creator of heaven and earth, and exalt His name over the County of Santa Clara and over California. He alone is worthy of glory, honor, and praise. We agree by faith for a shift in civic and spiritual government in our state to align with the headship of Jesus Christ. May the Lord now bless and restore His redemptive purposes in California. Amen!”

History of Santa Clara County:

In 1769, Jose Francisco Ortega, scouting for the Portola-Serra party, became the first European to visit the fertile valley that later became known as the Santa Clara Valley. The area was inhabited by Indians who were named Los Costanos (the coast people) by the Spanish, and later were called the Ohlone. Spain began colonizing California by establishing a string of 21 churches, called missions, that eventually stretched 600 miles along the California Coast from San Diego to Sonoma. The Franciscan padres (priests) selected the fertile valley discovered by Ortega to establish the eighth mission, Mission Santa Clara, named for Saint Clare. The mission was founded January 12, 1777.

In 1821, the Mexicans achieved independence from Spain, but the change of rulers created no changes in the way the missions operated. The Ohlone were still brought to the mission for compulsory baptism and conversion to Christianity. Records show that by December, 1828, there had been 8,279 baptisms, 2,376 marriages, and 6,408 deaths at Mission Santa Clara.

In 1836, control of Mission Santa Clara was taken from the padres and turned over to civil commissioners who were supposed to oversee the "return of the land to the native population." This did not happen and squatters took over the church buildings and land. Disorder and decay set in and by 1839, there were only 300 Indians remaining in the vicinity of Mission Santa Clara. About this time, the Mexican governor began issuing land grants to various favored people. The land was used for vast ranchos (ranches); large numbers of cattle were raised and roamed at will over the land. Hides and tallow from the livestock eventually comprised the first commercial export product and industry in the area.

By the 1840's, the American frontier had expanded to California and new settlers began arriving in the area. The raising of the American flag over Monterey in July of 1846 was a symbol of the fact that the lands of California had passed from the hands of Mexico to the United States. California became a state in 1850.

When promises of great wealth failed to materialize during the Gold Rush of 1849, many of the gold seekers turned to the "gold" that was the fertile land of the Santa Clara Valley and began to settle in Santa Clara.

In the 1850's the hamlet of Santa Clara began to take shape as a recognizable small town. The town site was surveyed by William Campbell into lots one hundred yards square, and one lot was given to each citizen with the understanding that he was to build a house on it within three months or lose the property. A schoolhouse and a church were built, several hotels erected, mercantile businesses established, and 23 houses were imported from Boston to be set up in the town.

In 1851, Santa Clara College was established on the old mission site and became a prominent feature of the developing town. Santa Clara incorporated as a town on July 5, 1852, and became a state-chartered city in 1862. By this time the city encompassed an area two miles long and one and a half miles wide. Outside city limits, small family farms and orchards developed and thrived in testimony of the area's fertile soil and mild climate.

As the town grew, it was supported by a variety of manufacturing, seed, and fruit industries. One of the earliest manufacturing businesses in Santa Clara was Wampach Tannery, established in 1849. In 1866, the business was taken over by Jacob Eberhard. Eberhard Tannery provided employment for the area for many years until torn down in 1953. Its fine leather products were sent to the Eastern U.S. states as well as Europe.

Another major employer was Pacific Manufacturing Company. Established in 1874, it became the largest wood products supplier on the Pacific Coast. It supplied quality lumber, mill work, sashes and doors, and moldings as well as coffins and caskets. The business closed in 1960.

The immediate vicinity around Santa Clara became famous for its acre-upon-acre of flower and vegetable seed farms. J. M. Kimberlin and Co. was the first seed company to establish in Santa Clara in 1875, and it eventually became the largest seed grower on the Pacific Coast.

C. C. Morse and Company seed farms started in the seed growing business after Kimberlin and grew to be the largest seed producer in the world. At harvest time, the company employed 500 people. Morse's main warehouse was located in Santa Clara near the railroad station.

The abundant fruit crop Santa Clara orchards produced was either shipped fresh, dried, or canned. Levi A. Gould, a Santa Clara orchardist, shipped the state's first carload of fresh fruit east in 1869, shortly after the transcontinental railroad was completed. A. Block Fruit Packing Company, established in 1878 on Gould's orchard land, became renown for the pears and cherries it packed and shipped to the east coast.

Pratt-Low Preserving Company, established in 1905, sent canned apricots, pears, peaches, cherries, and plums to all parts of the United States, England, and the Orient. During harvest season, 300 to 400 women and men were employed in the handling, sorting and canning process.

The California Cured Fruit Association was formed in 1900 to handle distribution of the dried fruit. In 1901, the Association built a large dried fruit warehouse near Santa Clara's railroad station. The Cured Fruit Association disbanded in 1903. In 1916, Rosenberg Brothers took over the warehouse for its dried prune and apricot operation.

As the 19th century came to a close, more and more people arrived seeking the mild climate and job opportunities of the Santa Clara area. By 1906, the population of the city had grown to nearly 5,000. The population remained fairly stable and did not increase greatly until after World War II when the city outgrew its 19th century boundaries and expanded to open lands north and west of the original city limits. The farms and orchards began to accommodate the burgeoning population.

A new product, the semiconductor chip, was developed in the 1950's. The resulting electronics industry, based on the silicon chip, gobbled up the remaining orchard land and changed the agricultural nature of Santa Clara and Santa Clara Valley forever. By 1990, the city covered 19.3 square miles and had a population of more than 93,000.

Few remnants of Santa Clara's agricultural past remain as it today sits in the heart of what is known world-wide as Silicon Valley. By harvesting the fruits of high technology, the Mission City has become a prosperous and progressive city with much to offer residents, businesses, and visitors alike.
 

CSAC Snapshot Info

Official County Website