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() is a suburban city in Santa Clara County, California, U.S., directly west of San Jose on the western edge of the Santa Clara Valley with portions extending into the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains. The population was 50,546 at the time of the 2000 census. The town has given its name to the Cupertino effect.
Cupertino in the 1800s was a small rural village at the crossroads of Stevens Creek Road and Saratoga-Mountain View Road (later Saratoga-Sunnyvale Road, and then renamed to De Anza Boulevard within Cupertino city limits). Back then, it was known as the West Side and was part of Fremont Township. The primary economic activity was fruit agriculture. Almost all of the land within Cupertino's present-day boundaries were covered by prune, plum, apricot, and cherry orchards. A winery on Montebello Ridge overlooking the Cupertino valley region was also operating by the late 1800s.
Soon railroads, electric railways, and dirt roads traversed the West Side farmlands. Monta Vista, Cupertino's first housing tract, was developed in the mid-1900s as a result of the electric railway's construction.
After World War II, a population and suburban housing boom dramatically shifted the demographics and economy of the Santa Clara Valley, as the "Valley of Heart's Delight" was beginning to transform into "Silicon Valley". In 1954, Cupertino leaders began to drive for incorporation as they were concerned about unplanned development and rising property taxes. In the September 27, 1955 election, voters approved the incorporation of the City of Cupertino. Cupertino officially became Santa Clara County's 13th City on October 10, 1955.
A major milestone in Cupertino's development was the creation by some of the city's largest landowners of VALLCO Business and Industrial Park in the early 1960s. Of the 25 property owners, 17 decided to pool their land to form VALLCO Park, 6 sold to Varian Associates (property later sold to Hewlett-Packard), and two opted for transplanting to farms elsewhere. The name VALLCO was derived from the names of the principal developers: Varian Associates and the Leonard, Lester, Craft, and Orlando families. A neighborhood shopping center and, much later, Vallco Fashion Park (now Cupertino Square) were also developed. Other notable businesses headquartered in Cupertino include Apple and Symantec Corporation.
De Anza College opened in 1967. The college, named for Juan Bautista De Anza, occupies a site that was the location of a winery built at the turn of the last century, called Beaulieu by its owners, Charles and Ella Baldwin. Their mansion has now become the California History Center. De Anza College now has about 22,000 students and is a hub of activity in the city.
Housing developments were rapidly constructed in the following years as developers created many neighborhoods, including Fairgrove, Garden Gate, Monta Vista, Seven Springs, and many other developments. Although originally low-cost housing, Silicon Valley's housing prices shot up dramatically as many houses that were formerly lowly priced became multi-million dollar homes. The high cost of living in Cupertino is attributed by people wanting their children to receive high quality schooling. Nevertheless, the price of the house seems to weather even during the 2007-8 slump in economy. Eichler homes are popular and even sought after in Rancho Rinconada Fairgrove neighborhood.