Mezesville

The discovery of gold at Sutter’s Fort in 1848 ushered in a period of rapid change in California as thousands of immigrants flooded into the state and the non-native population grew from 20,000 to 100,000 in one year.

Mexico ceded California to the United States in 1848 and California became the 31st state in 1850. The arrival of large numbers of settlers put Mexican land titles at risk and members of the Argüello family, holders of the vast Rancho de las Pulgas, were forced to defend their land titles in court. Attorney Simon Mezes successfully defended the claim for the Argüellos and was paid for his services with nearly 7,000 acres, much of what is now Redwood City.

The building boom that resulted from the Gold Rush created a demand for lumber and over two dozen sawmills were established in the Santa Cruz Mountains to supply redwood and Douglas fir. Much of this lumber was transported to Redwood Creek and then shipped by barges on San Francisco Bay.

About a mile southeast of Mezesville was Sweeny Ranch, first owned by Myles Sweeny beginning in the late 1800s. Stanford Redwood City is located within the former ranch lands. Myles Sweeny was an Irish immigrant who made his fortune as a liquor importer and distributor in San Francisco and then became president of Hibernia Bank. The Sweenys lived in San Francisco and maintained the land in Redwood City for growing hay and grazing cattle. After his death, Sweeny’s daughters sold the ranch.

By the end of the century Redwood City had grown into a small town of some 1,600 residents. At the opening of Stanford Redwood City in 2019, the city had grown to nearly 90,000.