Madrone is a neighborhood of

Morgan Hill, California Morgan Hill is a city in Santa Clara County, California, at the southern tip of Silicon Valley, in the San Francisco Bay Area. Morgan Hill is an affluent residential community, the seat of several high-tech companies, and a dining, entertainme ...

, located at the base of the Santa Cruz Mountains. Once an independent

township A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, C ...

within

Santa Clara County Santa Clara County, officially the County of Santa Clara, is the sixth-most populous county in the U.S. state of California, with a population of 1,936,259, as of the 2020 census. Santa Clara County and neighboring San Benito County together f ...

, the City of Morgan Hill annexed the Town of Madrone in 1959, turning the town into Morgan Hill's northern district, bordering

San Jose, California San Jose, officially San José (; ; ), is a major city in the U.S. state of California that is the cultural, financial, and political center of Silicon Valley and largest city in Northern California by both population and area. With a 2020 popu ...

. Today, Madrone is primarily an

affluent Wealth is the abundance of valuable financial assets or physical possessions which can be converted into a form that can be used for transactions. This includes the core meaning as held in the originating Old English word , which is from an I ...

residential area, home to numerous luxury developments and landed estates. With median home price of $1,422,346, Madrone is among the most expensive neighborhoods in

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, well above the national average of $220,100.

History

Historic Malaguerra Winery in Madrone, Morgan Hill, California 2762 (cropped)

The area now known as Madrone had long been known as a popular campsite for Spanish colonists traveling between

Monterey Monterey (; es, Monterrey; Ohlone: ) is a city located in Monterey County on the southern edge of Monterey Bay on the U.S. state of California's Central Coast. Founded on June 3, 1770, it functioned as the capital of Alta California under bot ...

and San Jose. However, Madrone was first permanently settled in 1835, during the period of Mexican rule in California, by Juan María Hernández, who was granted the Rancho Refugio de la Laguna Seca. In 1845, the rancho came into the hands of Captain William Fisher, the first

American citizen Citizenship of the United States is a legal status that entails Americans with specific rights, duties, protections, and benefits in the United States. It serves as a foundation of fundamental rights derived from and protected by the Constituti ...

to own land in the area. Soon after the 1850 American Conquest of California, the area was organized as the ''Burnett Township'' in 1852, named after

Peter Hardeman Burnett Peter Hardeman Burnett (November 15, 1807May 17, 1895) was an American politician who served as the first elected Governor of California from December 20, 1849, to January 9, 1851. Burnett was elected Governor almost one year before California's ...

, the first American Governor of California and local resident. By 1882, settlement came to be known as Madrone, after the

Pacific Madrone ''Arbutus menziesii'' or Pacific madrone (commonly madrone or madrona in the United States and arbutus in Canada), is a species of broadleaf evergreen tree in the family Ericaceae, native to the western coastal areas of North America, from Br ...

, with the popularity of the local Madrone Mineral Springs. The City of Morgan Hill annexed the Town of Madrone in 1959, rendering Madrone as a historic neighborhood of Morgan Hill.

Communities

Within Madrone, there are numerous distinct communities, including: *Amadora *Capriano *Madrone Plaza *Stonebridge *Willow Springs Canyon *Mission Ranch *Alicante *Borello Ranch Estates *Coyote Estates *Vista de Lomas

Economy

Madrone is home to a number of

Silicon Valley Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that serves as a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughly to the geographical areas San Mateo Coun ...

tech companies, all housed within the Madrone Business Park, on Madrone Parkway. Some of these companies include: * Paramit Corporation * Harris Corporation * NxEdge * Amtech Microelectronics Madrone is also home to numerous small businesses and community organizations, such as: * Josephine Bakery, a high-end, specialty bakery housed in a historic

Spanish Revival The Spanish Colonial Revival Style ( es, Arquitectura neocolonial española) is an architectural stylistic movement arising in the early 20th century based on the Spanish Colonial architecture of the Spanish colonization of the Americas. In th ...

building. * Edward Boss Prado Foundation, a Morgan Hill charitable foundation

Education

Madrone is served by the

Morgan Hill Unified School District The Morgan Hill Unified School District (MHUSD) is a public school district operating eight elementary schools, two middle schools, and three high schools in southern Santa Clara County, California. Its jurisdiction covers all of Morgan Hill, C ...

: * Sobrato High School * Central High SchoolMorgan Hill Life - Central helps high school students prepare for life after graduation
/ref> * Morgan Hill Charter School

References

External links

{{authority control Morgan Hill, California Neighborhoods in California