Saratoga Bibliography for Researchers and Students

This annotated bibliography is designed to assist researchers and students working on projects in the West Valley. Nearly all of the books are available at the Saratoga Library; most can be checked out. Unpublished manuscripts and some maps are available at the Saratoga Museum. Miscellaneous references appear in a number of locations and these are noted at the end of the list.

Allen, Rebecca and Mark Hylkema

2002 Life Along the Guadalupe River – an Archeological and Historical Journey.  The Press, San Jose. This report was published in conjunction with archeological work along the Guadalupe River in Downtown San Jose. It contains the best current general overview of life among the local Native American tribe, the Muwekma Ohlone. There is a Muwekma Ohlone site in Saratoga at 6th and Big Basin.

Arbuckle, Clyde

1968  Santa Clara County Ranchos, San Jose, Rosicrucian Press.

1986 Clyde Arbuckle’s History of San Jose. San Jose Memorabilia of San Jose. The Quito Rancho covers most of the area that became Saratoga.

Baker, John

1994 American House Styles. New York: W.W. Norton & Company. This is the standard reference to structural styles for researchers studying Saratoga architecture.

Balzer, Robert Lawrence

1970 This Uncommon Heritage: the Paul Masson Story. Ward Ritchie Press, Los Angeles. A history of the Paul Masson Company with some biographical information about Saratoga vintner Paul Masson. The writer is an authority on wine but the book was written to market the brand. No index.

Clarke, Henry

2002 – Henry Clarke’s Saratoga Village. Unpublished manuscript in the archives of the Saratoga Museum. This extremely important document accompanies an annotated copy of a Sanborn Fire Insurance map of Saratoga Village and lists the owners of most of the structures in Saratoga Village prior to 1950.

Cunningham, Florence Russell

1967 Saratoga’s First Hundred Years. Edited by Frances Fox.  Fresno, CA.  Panorama West Books. This is the definitive history of the Saratoga area, organized and edited by Frances Fox from Florence Cunningham’s notes.

De Havilland, Olivia

1962  Every Frenchman Has One. Random House, New York. The autobiography of one of Saratoga’s most famous daughters, Academy Award winning actress and sister of Joan Fontaine.

Fitzgerald, Richard T., Jr.

1991 Archaic Milling Cultures of the Southern San Francisco Bay Region, thesis, San Jose State University. This unpublished master’s thesis examines the evidence of the Muwekma Ohlone archeological site known as SC 1-65, located at 6th and Big Basin Way.

Fontaine, Joan

1978 No Bed of Roses. An Autobiography  William Morrow & Company, New York.  The history of another one of Saratoga’s most famous residents, an Academy Award winning actress and sister to Olivia De Havilland.

Foote, H. S.

1888 Pen Pictures from the Garden of the World or Santa Clara County. The Lewis Company, Chicago. This reference contains many biographical sketches of early Saratoga ranchers as well as an overview of the scenic attractions of the area. Biographical index.

Garrod, Emma Stolte

One Life, Mine. Published by the author. Saratoga, CA. Emma Stolte Garrod was raised in the Santa Cruz Mountains and later married R. V. Garrod. This book is one of the few early cultural histories of the mountain area. No index.

Garrod, R. V.

1962 Saratoga Story.  Published by the author. Saratoga, CA. A very useful personal history of many of the local residents and institutions not mentioned in other books. Not as authoritative as the Cunningham book. Garrod includes his recollections of an important visitor to the area, writer Rose Wilder Lane.

McCaleb, Charles S.

1981 Tracks, Tires & Wires: Public Transportation in California’s Santa Clara Valley. Interurban Press, Glendale, California. The best local overview of not only the railroad in Santa Clara County but also the trolley and bus lines. Includes discussion of the South Pacific Coast railroad and the Peninsular Railroad, Saratoga’s two important railways.

Munro-Fraser, J. P.

History of Santa Clara County, California. Alley Bowen & Co. San Francisco, 1881.

Nalty, Damon G.

1996 The Browns of Madronia. The Saratoga Historical Foundation. Saratoga, California 95070

Peck, Willys I.

1998 Saratoga Stereopticon: A Magic Lantern of Memory. California History Center and Foundation, Cupertino, CA. Local Studies No. 37. A collection of the newspaper columns about early Saratoga community life from the Saratoga News. These articles were written by an observant and authoritative San Jose Mercury reporter who was raised in Saratoga.  No index.

1896 Sunshine, Fruit and Flowers: Santa Clara County, California. Reprinted in 1986 by the San Jose Historical Museum, this early volume published by the San Jose Mercury promotes the many wonders of the local area, including Saratoga.

1994 The San Jose & Los Gatos Interurban Railroad: Photographs by Andrew P. Hill.  The book of photographs of Saratoga’s early trolley was reprinted in 1994 by the San Jose Historical Museum.

Sawyer, Eugene

1922 History of Santa Clara County with Biographical Sketches. Historic Record Company. Los Angeles, California. A very useful history with biographies of some prominent local Saratogans.

Thompson & West 

1876 Historical Atlas of Santa Clara County reprinted by Smith &  McKay Printing Company of San Jose in 1973. This book, both the original and the reprint, is one of the best references on property owners in the West Valley in the late 19th century.

Walsh, James P. and Timothy J. O’Keefe

1993 Legacy of a Native Son: James Duval Phelan. Forbes Mill Press.  A well-researched and authoritative look at the one of Saratoga’s most influential residents.

Young, John V.

1979 Ghost Towns of the Santa Cruz Mountains, reprint. Paper Vision Press, Santa Cruz, California. This series of stories about the towns in the hills behind Saratoga first appeared the San Jose Mercury Herald in 1934, written by a local newspaper reporter.

In addition to books, the following maps and other local records are very helpful to researchers. Copies of many of them are available at the Saratoga Museum, at the California Room of the Martin Luther King Public Library in San Jose, or at the Santa Clara County offices.

Quito Rancho Map

Plat filed in the Office of the County Recorder. Ask for Book A of Patents: Page 112

Sanborn Fire Insurance maps

Microfilm. These very useful maps cover only Saratoga Village for 1918 and for 1945. They show every structure in the Village at that time. Available in the California History Room of the Martin Luther King Public Library in San Jose.

County of Santa Clara, California

• Books of Deeds and Book of Official Records
• Books of Official Maps
• Tax Assessment Records

Other important County records located at the Santa Clara County Court House include:

• Probate Records – Superior Court
• Book of Will

Brainard, H. A. (Civil Engineer)

1888 Maps of Santa Clara County. Available in the California History Room of the Martin Luther King Public Library in San Jose. These are very useful maps since they list the Saratoga ranchers about 1883.

Madronia Cemetery Headstone Records, Madronia Cemetery

An index of the records in available at the Saratoga Museum.

Census Records

United States Federal Census. Microfilm available at California History Room of the Martin Luther King Public Library in San Jose.

City Directories

1870-1968 City of San Jose directories (Saratoga is listed in the back of most directories. There are no street listings in Saratoga before the mid-1950’s.) A complete set of directories is available in the California History Room of the Martin Luther King Public Library in San Jose.