History

Inside the Grant Historic Ranch House

Learn some of the history of Halls Valley and take a virtual look through the historic ranch house with this video.

Cultural history

The land that is now Grant Park was first inhabited and used for generations by the Tamyen tribe.

In 1839, a 15,000-acre Mexican Land Grant was awarded to José de Jesús Bernal and was named Rancho Cañada de Pala. Jose de Jesus and his two brothers built adobes around a spring-fed pond on a ridge overlooking the Santa Clara Valley. They pastured cattle and horses on this land. Bernal's uncle, Joaquin Bernal, occupied the nearby Rancho Santa Teresa. Over the years, parts of the Rancho were also sold or deeded.

Adam Grant bought his initial holding of Canada de Pala in 1880. Adam Grant was a wealthy founder of Murphy, Grant, & Company, a dry goods store that sold supplies to gold miners. In 1881, the land the house sits on was owned by the Hubbard family, where Frank Hubbard built the original house. The Hubbard house was much smaller than the historic house and sites you see today.

Adam Grant's son, Joseph D. Grant, took ownership of many original Rancho Canada de Pala. In 1927, the Hubbard house was sold to J.D. Grant, where he remodeled it to the colonial revival style and added a cookhouse, servants' quarters, other homes and buildings, a rose garden, and a large aviary to the property.

J.D. also used his influence to have Mount Hamilton Road moved one-half mile northeast of his home so it would not interfere with his privacy. J.D. used the ranch and its property for his leisure. The ranch's entertainment included swimming in the pool and horseback riding through the hills of the present-day park.

In addition to managing his father's dry goods business, J. D. Grant founded the Columbia Steel Company, served as President of the California-Oregon Power Company, and served on the Board of Directors of the General Petroleum Company and the Central Pacific Railroad. Grant owned mansions in San Francisco, Burlingame, and Pebble Beach. He was a Bohemian Club member and a life trustee of Stanford University. Grant also belonged to the Sierra Club and was president of the Save-the-Redwoods League for 21 years.

When Joseph D. Grant stayed at his ranch, he entertained guests such as Leland Stanford and the 31st President of the United States, Herbert Hoover. Hoover stayed at the ranch for a month after his election loss to Franklin Roosevelt.

Joseph D. Grant died in 1942 and was followed in death by his wife, Edith, in 1948. After her parent's death, their daughter, Josephine, purchased shares in the ranch from her two siblings and became the sole owner of the property. Josephine became a full-time ranch resident in 1958 and remained there until she died in 1972.

Josephine Grant's will deeded half of the ranch property to the Save-the-Redwoods League and the other half to the Menninger Foundation. In 1975, Santa Clara County purchased the property to preserve it as a park. In 1978, Joseph D. Grant County Park, named after the man and his family who had owned the property for nearly 100 years, opened to the public.

Grant Ranch House Complex

The Grant Ranch House Complex (Grant Ranch Complex) contains the most prominent historical structures in Grant Park. The Grant Ranch Complex structures are listed in the County of Santa Clara Historic Resources Inventory and are eligible for State and/or Federal historic designation.

The Grant Ranch Complex comprises five main structures grouped around a courtyard, surrounding landscape features including brick walls, a rose garden, and two associated structures. The structures date from the late 19th and early 20th centuries and represent a period of construction, additions, and modifications undertaken by Joseph D. Grant during his family’s tenure at Grant Ranch from 1927 to 1972. The main ranch house was originally constructed by Adam Hubbard circa 1881 and remodeled and expanded by Joseph D. Grant in the 1930s.

The Grant Ranch Complex structures include:

• Ranch House (Main House or Hubbard House)
• Cookhouse
• Tank House
• Guest House or “Buddy residence” with attached garage (currently used as the park office).
• Carriage House with attached garage
• Storehouse with attached open shed (“Rat-Proof” shed)
• McCreery Cottage (Magee Casa or the Casa house)

Online historical collections

Check our online historical collections to see photos, documents, and artifacts from Joseph D. Grant County Park. You can also view artifacts from Martial Cottle County Park or the Almaden Quicksilver Mining Museum and can request images from us.