Overfelt Gardens are a park in

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 ...

, located in the Alum Rock district of East San Jose.

History

The land for the park was donated by Mildred Overfelt in 1959, in memory of her parents, William and Mary Overfelt, early San Jose pioneers that started grain and

dairy farm Dairy farming is a class of agriculture for long-term production of milk, which is processed (either on the farm or at a dairy plant, either of which may be called a dairy) for eventual sale of a dairy product. Dairy farming has a history th ...

s in the 1850s. Mildred specified the park was intended "to provide a place of rest, relaxation, aesthetic, and other enjoyment for the people of San Jose" and no sports fields or games were to be constructed. It was opened in 1966.

Park features

Early features added to the park include picnic areas, restrooms, a

fountain A fountain, from the Latin "fons" (genitive "fontis"), meaning source or spring, is a decorative reservoir used for discharging water. It is also a structure that jets water into the air for a decorative or dramatic effect. Fountains were ori ...

dedicated to Mildred, and a "fragrance garden" comprising many aromatic plants. Later paths were added around the rest of the park and its three

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

s, with a section designated as a California

Native plant In biogeography, a native species is indigenous to a given region or ecosystem if its presence in that region is the result of only local natural evolution (though often popularised as "with no human intervention") during history. The term is equ ...

and

Wildlife Wildlife refers to undomesticated animal species, but has come to include all organisms that grow or live wild in an area without being introduced by humans. Wildlife was also synonymous to game: those birds and mammals that were hunted ...

Sanctuary. Three large, interconnected percolation ponds rise and shrink throughout the year, providing habitat for birds, reptiles, amphibians, mammals and fish year-round. A large statue of the famous Chinese philosopher Confucius overlooks a shallow reflection pond that, when full, spills into a narrow streambed. Also, the California Wild area is a wildlife sanctuary composed of a dirt trail winding around a hill covered in native trees, brush, wildflowers and grasses. A paved walking trail meanders around the remainder of the park over gently sloping hills, around a reflection pond emptying into a small stream, past cultural points of interest and around three percolation ponds. The current park map shows these trails as thick white lines. The southeast section of the park includes the Chinese Cultural Garden, commemorating Sun Yat-sen, Chiang Kai-shek,

Confucius Confucius ( ; zh, s=, p=Kǒng Fūzǐ, "Master Kǒng"; or commonly zh, s=, p=Kǒngzǐ, labels=no; – ) was a Chinese philosopher and politician of the Spring and Autumn period who is traditionally considered the paragon of Chinese sages. C ...

, and

Chinese culture Chinese culture () is one of the world's oldest cultures, originating thousands of years ago. The culture prevails across a large geographical region in East Asia and is extremely diverse and varying, with customs and traditions varying grea ...

in general, including a large black stone, mined and shipped from

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

Location

Overfelt Gardens is located on McKee Road in East San Jose. Independence High School lies just to its north.

References

External links

* ''Overfelt Gardens'', City of San Jose Department of Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services, March 2001. Parks in San Jose, California {{SanJoseCA-stub