Bell Station (or Bell's Station) is an
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 ...
located along
State Route 152 between
Casa de Fruta
Casa de Fruta (Spanish: literally "House of Fruit") is a large roadside attraction located in an unincorporated area of Santa Clara County, just west of the Merced County line, in the Pacheco Valley of Northern California, along State Route ...
and
Pacheco Pass
Pacheco Pass, elevation , is a low mountain pass located in the Diablo Range in southeastern Santa Clara County, California. It is the main route through the hills separating the Santa Clara Valley and the Central Valley.
As with most passes in ...
near the southeast extent of
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 ...
.
A Department of Transportation (
Caltrans) maintenance station used to exist in this area. A
California Department of Forestry
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) is the fire department of the California Natural Resources Agency in the U.S. state of California. It is responsible for fire protection in various areas under state responsib ...
fire station is west of Bell Station along SR152.
The
ZIP code is 95020, and the community is in
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 ...
.
History
The location was originally called Hollenbeck's Station, (possibly after the namesake of the
Sunnyvale street of the same name).
[Durham, David L., ''Durham's Place Names of the San Francisco Bay Area,'' (Clovis, California: Word Dancer Press, 2000) pp. 153.] It was renamed for Lafayette F. Bell, who had built a saloon at the entrance to a road over
Pacheco Pass
Pacheco Pass, elevation , is a low mountain pass located in the Diablo Range in southeastern Santa Clara County, California. It is the main route through the hills separating the Santa Clara Valley and the Central Valley.
As with most passes in ...
. Later, Bell bought the road over Pacheco Pass from
Andrew Firebaugh and began charging a toll for passage. A Bell's Station Post Office was established by the U.S. Post Office Department, and was in use from 1873 to 1914.
[Myer, Chuck, report: ''Pacheco Past: A History of the Gateway to Santa Clara County'', (San Jose, California: Pioneers of Santa Clara County, 1992).]
Some references say the locale was a stop on the
Butterfield Overland Mail
Butterfield Overland Mail (officially the Overland Mail Company)Waterman L. Ormsby, edited by Lyle H. Wright and Josephine M. Bynum, "The Butterfield Overland Mail", The Huntington Library, San Marino, California, 1991. was a stagecoach service i ...
stagecoach route.
The stagecoach route to San Francisco from the American midwest was known to have stops every ten miles or so along its length. Hall of Fame baseball player
Harry Hooper
Harry Bartholomew Hooper (August 24, 1887 – December 18, 1974) was an American professional baseball right fielder who played in Major League Baseball (MLB). Hooper batted left-handed and threw right-handed. Hooper was born in Bell Station, Ca ...
was born here in 1887.
Geography
Bell Station is an officially defined geographic feature of type ''locale'' in the National Geographic Names Database. The feature ID number is 218994. The location also appears on the US Geological Survey 7.5-minute quadrangle "Pacheco Peak, California" and the 1921 "Gilroy Hot Springs, California" 15-minute quadrangle.
The US Geological Survey latitude and longitude for the locale is given as . The area is about 350 feet above mean sea level (AMSL).
Other articles
*
Henry W. Coe State Park
Sources
''The History of Pacheco Pass'' as retrieved January 19, 2007.
References
External links
1921 USGS Gilroy Hot Springs 15-minute quadrangle map
{{authority control
Unincorporated communities in California
Unincorporated communities in Santa Clara County, California