Notable People
Mabel Mattos, Steve Munzel, and Catherine Pelizzari, spent several weeks this summer listening to and editing the previous transcript of an interview made on cassette tape in 1971 with William Weller Curtner, (1894-1972). This recording was made into a digital file and enhanced by member Bill Hare, which made it clearer and easier to understand.
The Voice of a Pioneer:
(William) Weller Curtner
The Society’s collection of oral histories give an amazing window into the history of our community.
Above: Weller Curtner and his wife, Ruth Long Curtner, at their Scott Creek Ranch
In the taped interview, Weller Curtner remembers the area as all farms, when the locations of markets and depots were determined by how horses could manage the roads; he remembers the stern-wheelers and scow schooners that took the produce up the bay to San Francisco. He describes the various tanneries, black-smiths, and wagon makers that were so important to the farmers then.
Weller Curtner tells how and when the different crops that made the Santa Clara Valley famous were introduced, and he reminisces about all the people from different lands who came here to work.
Rancher and Descendant of Two Pioneer Settlers
Weller Curtner, as well as being a prominent local rancher, was the grandson of two Milpitas pioneer settlers, Henry Curtner and Joseph Weller.
Henry Curtner
(Click on the link below to read the article.)
(1830-1917) Henry Curtner: Rags to Riches, A Hoosier Comes West in 1852
Curtner Drive and
Curtner Elementary School
Curtner Drive, on the northeast side of Milpitas, was named after Henry Curtner and Curtner Elementary School honors the Curtner family who carried on his legacy of civic responsibility.
Hon. Joseph R. Weller
In 1855, he organized the Milpitas School District on land owned by his brother, Abraham, and was appointed one of its trustees, a position he filled for the next 24 years.
Joseph R. Weller was a Justice of the Peace (1856-1878) and was one of the Associate Judges of Santa Clara County. In 1878, he was elected as a member of the State Constitutional Convention and assisted in framing the California State Constitution.
The Hon. Joseph R. Weller, (1825-1916) was a prominent landowner and civic leader who, after working as a teacher in New York State and a try at the California gold fields, filed a preemption claim to land on Rancho Tularcitos in 1853.
Weller Lane, Weller Road and
Weller Elementary School
Weller Lane is named for J. R. Weller, as is Weller Road, in the hills behind Milpitas, and Joseph Weller Elementary School.