The Milpitas Historical Society will be hosting a Foothills Tour on Saturday, June 26th. If you wish to attend this tour please contact Barbara Bowman at 942-1492.

The first stop will be at the only apricot ranch left in Milpitas which is owned by Society members Kelly and Diana Silva.

You will be able to see first hand how the apricots are picked, cut, sulfured and spread on the ground to dry. This ranch has belonged to the Silva family since the 1800′s, and his son Clarence (Kelly) continues to farm it.

Across the street, our next stop is the gated St. John’s Catholic Cemetery which is closed to the public. St John’s is the resting place of many pioneers who settled in our town. The previous owners were Frederico and Teresa Narvaez who sold the property to Sebina Dias on September 8, 1898 for $625. Four days later on September 12,1898 she sold the property to the Roman Catholic Archbishop of San Francisco for the same price. The first burial according to records was on February 13, 1903. John Joseph Cabral was 55 and a native of Portugal. Other names that may be familiar to members and the community are Borge, Carlo, Coelho, Gomes, Lopes, Mello, Nunes, Pashote, Pedro, Rose, Silova, Silveira, Soares, Pimental and Terra.

Next stop will be Ed Levin Park to get the ranger who will open the gate to the Downing Ranch at Sandy Wool Park. This ranch was once owned by long time rancher George Lucas Downing in the 1800′s. This is still a working ranch and not open to the public. There is an interesting rock formation once used by the Ohlone Indians on a hill at the ranch we may climb up to view.

The public is welcome to attend, the group will meet at Mervyn’s parking lot at 9:45 a.m. and plan to leave at 10 a.m.

It is suggested everyone wear sun screen, a hat, walking shoes and bring a bottle of water.

We’ll also visit the St. John’s Cemetery across the street, which is the resting place of many Milpitas pioneers and closed to the public.

Please bring a picnic lunch, and we’ll head up to Ed Levin Park to eat. Then we’ll continue up the hill to visit the historic 2-room Laguna School, which is owned by member Bill Hare.

Next we’ll head back to the cars and on to the Downing Ranch, which is also closed to the public. We’ll climb the hill to see the huge rock that the Ohlone Indians once ground their acorns on. This is a working ranch and you will see horses, cows … and many peacocks!

Bring water and wear comfortable shoes. We will meet at Big Lots at 9:00 A.M. and leave at 9:15 A.M. We may car pool, if there is interest, or drive your own car. It is not very far.

For more information, call Barbara at 408-942-1492.