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Palo Alto, California is a popular senior vacation and retirement community.

Palo Alto CA History

Native Indians from various tribes first lived in the Palo Alto area. In 1769, Don Gaspar de Portola and his men encountered the Costanoan Indians. Spanish Padre Palou arrived in 1774. The area was settled when Don Rafael Soto located his 2,229-acre ranch at Palo Alto in the 1850’s. Soto's daughter Maria Luisa married a former British officer who was granted 12,545 acres in the Searsville area. After his death, she married John Greer, an Irish sea captain. The Greer family's mission bell cattle brand is the oldest recorded brand in the state.

The beauty of the area attracted wealthy San Franciscans. They bought large tracts of land and built vacation estates. Farther south, Spaniards prospered on their ranchos. From 1773 to 1800, 16 land grants were given, ranging in size from 2 or 3 acres to tens of thousands of acres. Mexico severed connections with Spain in 1821. More than 800 land grants were given by Mexico over the next 25 years.

In 1885, Leland Stanford donated the land for Stanford University. Construction began in 1887, and the university opened in 1891. For a town site, Stanford bought some 740 acres of land for roughly $300,000. He named the new town Palo Alto, which means “the tall tree”.

Palo Alto California – Home of Stanford University

Today, Palo Alto California is well known as the home of Stanford University and it is a popular senior tourist and vacation area.