Menlo Park, California: Beyond the Gate

In 1854, pioneer settlers Dennis J. Oliver and Daniel C. McGlynn acquired 1,700 acres on the north bank of San Francisquito Creek. To mark their land, the pair erected a giant arched gate upon which they painted the name Menlo Park to remind them of their homeland in Menlough County, Galway, Ireland. A decade later, when the tracks of the San Francisco & San Jose Railroad reached the creek, railroad officials took the name Menlo Park for the station. Thereafter, this name was applied to the entire region and subsequently the town. Perhaps no Peninsula city has a more fabled and exciting history. Menlo Park became the first enclave of wealth and privilege south of San Francisco. For a time there were more great houses, more wealth and more human power concentrated in Menlo than any other California community. Almost from the beginning, a special dynamic developed between the wealthy, who eventually broke away to form the town of Atherton, and the townsfolk, those who had come initially to serve the grand estates. These people established and built the town of Menlo Park. During the course of 150 years, Menlo Park has acquired a significance far greater than its geographical size of population suggerts. Hardcover, illustrated with many black and white photographs and artwork. Decorated endpapers and accompanying text.