Santa Teresa Spring - San Jose, California - Natural Springs on Waymarking.com

Text from the park sign at the spring:

"The native Ohlone Indians lived here because of the spring's never-ending flow. A retired Spanish soldier, Jose Joquin Bernal, settled here and built his rancho to take advantage of the life-giving water in an often drought-ridden country.
For the following 150 years, Jose Joquin's descendants continually occupied the land adjacent to the Santa Teresa Spring, drawing on its endless supply of fresh water to provide for herds of cattle, hayfields, vineyards, orchards, and family needs.
Santa Teresa Spring water sustained family and business through changing times. During the rancho period, Bernal Hacienda adobe buildings (circa 1826) were supplied with spring water using a tile-lined water ditch system. Ygnacio Bernal later created a 35,000 gallon reservoir to store water for the family's farming and orchard operations. This reservoir is also noted as the first man made swimming pool in the Santa Clara valley.
Ygnacio's son, Pedro, established the lucrative Santa Teresa Springs Water Company around 1910. Jesusita Bernal, Pedro's mother, served as proprietor of the company, a job rare for a woman at the turn of the century. Spring water was collected, bottled, and sold in downtown San Jose until Pedro's death in 1935. Newspaper ads in the early 1900s boasted of the spring water's healing qualities. As late as 1970, water companies offered to purchase Santa Teresa water."
(my transciption, any errors mine)

Now the Bernal Ranch and the Springs are part of Santa Teresa County Park. The spring water continues to emerge from the rocky hillside, collect in the earthen reservoir, and overflow into a drainage ditch. The spring itself is fenced off, but you can get a close view from a park-installed platform, only a few feet away.

Public or Private Land?: Public Public Land Fees?: 0 Private Land access?: Not listed

Visit Instructions:
Please post an original picture of the springs no GPS necessary along with your observations of the spring. What wildlife you saw if any and the condition of the springs. Water level was high, low. The area was clean, trashy ect. Any other knowledge or experiences you have had with this paticular spring that would help document it's history.

Recent Visits/Logs:

Date Logged Log User Rating   07/09/2014 nextmoran visited it 03/29/2009 DougK visited it

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