THIS WEBSITE IS A WORK-IN-PROGRESS UNTIL SEPTEMBER 30, 2023. 

Before “Silicon Valley,” Santa Clara County was the largest fruit and vegetable producing and processing (canning) region in the United States with Mexicans serving as a majority of the labor force in the post WWII era. Before Silicon Valley:  Mexican Agricultural and Cannery Workers of Santa Clara County, 1920-1960 is a bilingual website research and education project highlighting the little-documented history of ethnic Mexican migration, work, cultural life, and civil rights activism in Santa Clara County from 1920 to 1960.  This website project is under the fiscal sponsorship of San José Parks Foundation and the co-sponsorship of San José State University Library, La Raza Historical Society of Santa Clara Valley, and the Arhoolie Foundation.  

Visit our website soft/preview launch on César Chávez Day, March 31, 2023, when we host an abbreviated online exhibit “Before Silicon Valley” linked to four mini-documentaries and scholar talks. The full website launch on September 30, 2023, (during Hispanic Heritage Month) will include a complete online exhibit with timeline, story map, grade 4-university level lesson plans, project history and our oral history interview and photo collection.

Celebrate, learn, and explore Santa Clara County’s Mexican American agricultural and cannery worker history with our exciting free Public Programs in April & May 2023 for the Soft/Preview Launch and September & October 2023 for the Full Launch. Follow our project on Instagram and Facebook.