Nicholas and Isabel Den
Isabel was born in 1855, the daughter of Jose Ramon and Isabel (Alviso) Arguello. She married Nicholas Den (born in 1848) at Mission Santa Barbara about 1878. Ramon was the son of Dr. Nicholas Den of Ireland. Along with Dr. H.H. Warburton, he was one of only three doctors practicing in Alta, California.
Source: Legendary Locals of Santa Clara (you can find a copy at City Lights)
It's a great time to get outside and enjoy the Old Quad for the wonderful place it is! Flowers are blooming and the birds are chirping...you never know what neighbors you might meet while on a nice stroll!
We are looking for volunteers for different projects in the area. Please let us know if you're interested and we can send you more information!
The walking group had a great time strolling and talking through the Santa Clara Mission Cemetery last Saturday. We even learned a bit about some of the people buried there. One person's stone that's pointed out on the map is Maria Soledad Ortega de Arguello.
"Granddaughter of Sergeant Jose Francisco de Ortega, the discoverer of the Santa Clara Valley, Dona Soledad was California's 'first lady' when her husband, Don Luis Arguello, was California's first governor under Mexican rule. The Arguello Family's vast Rancho de las Pulgas covered most of what is today's San Mateo area."
Source: Santa Clara Mission Cemetery Map
If you are interested in viewing our Financial Statement from 2014, you can download it here.
Bellomy Street
Since we're meeting on Bellomy Street for our Walking Group on March 7th, wouldn't you like to know how it got it's name?? George Washington Bellomy established the first tannery in Santa Clara and operated a saloon here in the gold rush era. His wife was a Bernal family member.
Source: City of Santa Clara Website
Thanks to those who came out to Mission City Creamery last night! We had a great time sharing stories over yummy handmade ice cream!
Supporting Local Business events are important to keep the fabric of our community together. If you own a business and are interested in hosting an event, please contact us!
We are excited at the launch of our Facebook page! Like us to get updates and information in your news feed!
We've heard many people say that one of the reasons they like living in the Old Quad is the history...but how much do you really know?
You can check back here for occasional posts to learn about the history of Santa Clara! If you have any interesting facts you would like to share contact us!
Thank you to everyone who participated at Second Harvest last month! We had a great time sorting food and getting to know each other better. Because of volunteers, 95 cents of every $1 donated to the Food Bank goes directly to programs providing food to over 243,000 people each month. Hopefully we can do it again soon in the future!
As a neighborhood organization, the Old Quad Residents' Association has no opinion on the paint colors at 1091 Harrison. We have some members who like the paint colors and also some who do not. Our role is to facilitate an open dialog among all neighbors and the city, so that individuals can come to their own opinion and engage themselves in the proper channels (city council, public meetings, etc.) if they desire. In addition, political action is only one of several aspects of OQRA, also including camaraderie and socialization between neighbors to promote a happy, sincere, safe community in which to live.
More importantly, the controversy with 1091 Harrison has nothing to do with paint colors. There are two reasons this house is a sensitive subject for the neighborhood:
The first is a long story that involves what some feel was inappropriate and/or unauthorized issuance of permits by the city that allowed major alterations to this historic resource. Select individuals have sued the City of Santa Clara over this issue; OQRA is not a party to that suit.
Second, the process of construction created a severe lead-based paint hazard to the nearby properties, which prompted a second lawsuit from select individuals; OQRA is not a party to that suit either.
We hope the media can start to get to the real issues, and not focus on paint colors.
Please use the "contact us" feature if you have any other questions.
At the city council meeting on March 18, 2014, the new postmaster announced that our beloved downtown post office is no longer on plan to be shut down. The Postmaster's announcement was met with a standing ovation by people at the meeting. Congressman Mike Honda was influential in keeping the post office open. Read all about it on the Santa Clara website.
Thank you for visiting our new site! We want to improve the site by adding pictures relevant to the Old Quad. However, we don't just want to steal those pictures from the internet. So, if you have good quality images (that you own the rights to) and would like to share them with our site, please contact the site admin.
Suggested pictures:
