Rucker is a former

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

Santa Clara County, California 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 ...

, located halfway along the five miles of Monterey Highway between Gilroy and San Martin. The name is official, but not in common use among locals today. Its elevation is listed as 235 feet above mean sea level (AMSL) and NAD27 coordinates are given as . Supporting the name are local geographic features, ''Rucker Avenue'', ''Rucker School'' (K-6), and ''Rucker Creek''. The community was part of the Mexican land grant Rancho San Francisco de las Llagas. References corroborate use of the name in 1933 to describe a siding on what is now the

Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Paci ...

, Coast Subdivision. It still appears on modern maps.Map: "Gilroy, California 7.5 Minute Quadrangle, 1985" U.S. Geological Survey. The community is inside

area codes 408 and 669 Area codes 408 and 669 are telephone area codes in the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) in the U.S. state of California. The numbering plan area comprises most of Santa Clara County and Northern Santa Cruz County, and includes Gilroy, M ...

and default wired telephone service is provided by the

Verizon Verizon Communications Inc., commonly known as Verizon, is an American multinational telecommunications conglomerate and a corporate component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The company is headquartered at 1095 Avenue of the Americas ...

Gilroy

exchange Exchange may refer to: Physics *Gas exchange is the movement of oxygen and carbon dioxide molecules from a region of higher concentration to a region of lower concentration. Places United States * Exchange, Indiana, an unincorporated community * ...

. The district is in ZIP code 95020. At the southern edge of the San Jose metropolitan area, the community is gradually being developed. The area has historically been agricultural, with many present-day area homes having an acre of land, or more, and horses. Homes often include mature trees and primitive barbed-wire fences. Area crops include turf, alfalfa and other irrigated row crops.

References

External links

1917 map of area showing "Rucker".

Unincorporated communities in Santa Clara County, California Unincorporated communities in California {{SantaClaraCountyCA-geo-stub