Woodside, California
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Woodside is a
incorporated town An incorporated town is a town that is a municipal corporation. Canada Incorporated towns are a form of local government in Canada, which is a responsibility of provincial rather than federal government. United States An incorporated town o ...
in
San Mateo County, California San Mateo County ( ), officially the County of San Mateo, is a county (United States), county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 764,442. Redwood City, California, Redwood City is th ...
, United States, on the
San Francisco Peninsula The San Francisco Peninsula is a peninsula in the San Francisco Bay Area that separates San Francisco Bay from the Pacific Ocean. On its northern tip is the City and County of San Francisco. Its southern base is Los Altos and Mountain View, ...
. It has a council–manager system of government. The population of the town was 5,309 at the 2020 census. The town's population has a median household income above $250,000 and median home price above $5 million. The town is known for its quaint and small town feel despite being close to Silicon Valley, and is home to many venture capital and investment firms.


History

The Woodside area was originally home to the
Ohlone The Ohlone ( ), formerly known as Costanoans (from Spanish meaning 'coast dweller'), are a Native Americans in the United States, Native American people of the Northern California coast. When Spanish explorers and missionaries arrived in the l ...
tribe. In 1769, led by
Gaspar de Portolá Captain Gaspar de Portolá y Rovira (January 1, 1716 – October 10, 1786) was a Spanish Army officer and colonial administrator who served as the first List of governors of California before 1850, governor of the Californias from 1767 to 1770 ...
, Spanish explorers searching for
San Francisco Bay San Francisco Bay (Chochenyo language, Chochenyo: 'ommu) is a large tidal estuary in the United States, U.S. state of California, and gives its name to the San Francisco Bay Area. It is dominated by the cities of San Francisco, California, San ...
camped at a site near Woodside. In 1840, the land that was to be the future Woodside became part of a Mexican land grant, Rancho Cañada de Raymundo, which in 1841 was granted to an Englishman, John Coppinger. Woodside is said to be the oldest English-speaking settlement in the southern part of the San Francisco Peninsula. The first English-speaking settlers arrived in the early 19th century to log the rich stands of redwoods. Charles Brown constructed the first sawmill in Woodside on his Mountain Home Ranch around 1847. Brown's adobe house still stands today. By mid-century, the Woodside area had a dozen mills producing building materials for a booming San Francisco. In 1849, during the
California Gold Rush The California gold rush (1848–1855) began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought approximately 300,000 people to California from the rest of the U ...
, 20-year-old Mathias Alfred Parkhurst purchased of timberland and named it "Woodside"; of course, this name was kept. By the late 19th century, Woodside was home to country estates. The Sequoia Redwood trees in Woodside are currently 3rd generation growth. The first generation of the Redwood trees were used to build San Francisco's original homes. After the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, the loggers returned to Woodside to cut the second growth of redwood so they could be used for the rebuilding of San Francisco. In 1909, the
Family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...
, a private club, set up camp facilities and rustic buildings in Woodside at the Family Farm, a rural retreat used by club members for recreation. Gatherings at the Family Farm include an annual Farm Play, written and performed by members. In 1912, the Family pooled funds to build Our Lady of the Wayside Church in Portola Valley, designed by 19-year-old Timothy L. Pflueger, his first commission. The historic building was repaired at a cost of US$600,000 after the
1989 Loma Prieta earthquake On October 17, 1989, at 5:04 p.m. Pacific Time Zone, PST, the Loma Prieta earthquake occurred at the Central Coast (California), Central Coast of California. The shock was centered in The Forest of Nisene Marks State Park in Santa Cruz Cou ...
. Woodside was incorporated in 1956 and it retains a rural residential character even though it is only a short commute to
Silicon Valley Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that is 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 area of the Santa Clara Valley ...
and
Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...
. In early 2022, the town initially declared itself a
mountain lion The cougar (''Puma concolor'') (, ''Help:Pronunciation respelling key, KOO-gər''), also called puma, mountain lion, catamount and panther is a large small cat native to the Americas. It inhabits North America, North, Central America, Cent ...
habitat to circumvent state affordable housing requirements and then subsequently retracted that position. It backed down after California Attorney General Rob Bonta denied this claim. Bonta wrote, "There is no valid basis to claim that the entire town of Woodside is a habitat for mountain lions. On November 15, 2023, a meeting was held at Filoli estate between President Biden and President Xi of China amid the 2023 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit taking place in San Francisco. After meeting with Chinese President
Xi Jinping Xi Jinping, pronounced (born 15 June 1953) is a Chinese politician who has been the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and Chairman of the Central Military Commission (China), chairman of the Central Military Commission ...
that day, Biden announced that they made progress on a common understanding to crack down on chemicals trafficked from China that are used to make
fentanyl Fentanyl is a highly potent synthetic piperidine opioid primarily used as an analgesic (pain medication). It is 30 to 50 times more Potency (pharmacology), potent than heroin and 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine. Its primary Medici ...
, improve military communications in the Indo-Pacific, and address risks associated with artificial intelligence.


Geography

Woodside is located on the
San Francisco Peninsula The San Francisco Peninsula is a peninsula in the San Francisco Bay Area that separates San Francisco Bay from the Pacific Ocean. On its northern tip is the City and County of San Francisco. Its southern base is Los Altos and Mountain View, ...
in
San Mateo County San Mateo County ( ), officially the County of San Mateo, is a county (United States), county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 764,442. Redwood City, California, Redwood City is th ...
. The town is on the eastern slopes of the
Santa Cruz Mountains The Santa Cruz Mountains ( Mutsun Ohlone: Mak-sah-re-jah, "Sharp Ridged Mountain of the Eagle" or "People of the Eagle Mountain") are a mountain range in central and Northern California, United States, constituting a part of the Pacific Coast R ...
and its south-western boundary reaches California State Route 35 which runs alongs the ridge of those mountains.
Redwood City Redwood City is a city on the San Francisco Peninsula in the Bay Area of Northern California, approximately south of San Francisco and northwest of San Jose. The city's population was 84,292 according to the 2020 census. The Port of Redwo ...
to the north with Atherton and Menlo Park to the east lie between Woodside and the
San Francisco Bay San Francisco Bay (Chochenyo language, Chochenyo: 'ommu) is a large tidal estuary in the United States, U.S. state of California, and gives its name to the San Francisco Bay Area. It is dominated by the cities of San Francisco, California, San ...
. To the south is Portola Valley. Much of Woodside is wooded, with redwoods and Douglas fir dominating in the western hills and more oaks and eucalyptus in the lower areas. West Union Creek joins Bear Creek in Woodside. Woodside has a variety of habitat types including
California oak woodland California oak woodland is a plant community found throughout the California chaparral and woodlands ecoregion of California in the United States and northwestern Baja California in Mexico. Oak woodland is widespread at lower elevations in coast ...
and
riparian zone A riparian zone or riparian area is the interface between land and a river or stream. In some regions, the terms riparian woodland, riparian forest, riparian buffer zone, riparian corridor, and riparian strip are used to characterize a ripari ...
s. There is considerable
biodiversity Biodiversity is the variability of life, life on Earth. It can be measured on various levels. There is for example genetic variability, species diversity, ecosystem diversity and Phylogenetics, phylogenetic diversity. Diversity is not distribut ...
present, Woodside being within the California Floristic Province. Notable species present include the rare and
endangered species An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching, inv ...
'' Acanthomintha duttonii'', the San Mateo Thornmint. The
San Andreas Fault The San Andreas Fault is a continental Fault (geology)#Strike-slip faults, right-lateral strike-slip transform fault that extends roughly through the U.S. state of California. It forms part of the tectonics, tectonic boundary between the Paci ...
runs through portions of Woodside.


Climate

As is true of most of the California coastal areas, weather in Woodside is usually mild during most of the year. Summers are dry and can be hot; winter temperatures rarely dip much below freezing. Average January temperatures are a maximum of and a minimum of . Average July temperatures are a maximum of and a minimum of . Snowfall is extremely rare except in the nearby
Santa Cruz Mountains The Santa Cruz Mountains ( Mutsun Ohlone: Mak-sah-re-jah, "Sharp Ridged Mountain of the Eagle" or "People of the Eagle Mountain") are a mountain range in central and Northern California, United States, constituting a part of the Pacific Coast R ...
, where several inches falls every several years. Annual precipitation averages and falls on an average of 61 days annually. The record maximum temperature was on July 22, 2006, and the record minimum temperature was on February 6, 1989. Temperatures reach or higher on an average of 48.4 days annually. Temperatures drop to freezing on an average of 10.0 days annually. The maximum rainfall in one year was in 1983. The maximum rainfall in one month was in December 2002 and the maximum in 24 hours was on December 1, 2002. On February 5, 1976, of snow fell at the fire station. Hills and mountains between Woodside and the Pacific coast make fog much less prevalent than in nearby San Francisco. As well, during the summer, Woodside's climate is hotter than that of San Francisco.


Demographics


2010 Census

At the 2010 census Woodside had a population of 5,287. The population density was . The racial makeup of Woodside was * 4,717 (89.2%) White * 332 (6.3%) Asian * 144 (2.7%) from two or more races * 63 (1.2%) from other races * 23 (0.4%) African American * 4 (0.1%) Native American * 4 (0.1%) Pacific Islander There were 243 residents of Hispanic or Latino origin, of any race (4.6%). There were 1,977 households. The average household size was 2.67. There were 1,487 families (75.2% of households); the average family size was 3.01. The median age was 48.8 years. The homeowner vacancy rate was 0.9%; the rental vacancy rate was 3.7%.


2020 Census

At the 2020 census the town had a population of 5,309. The racial makeup was * 83.9% White * 7.1% two or more races * 6.7% Asian * 0.6% African American.


Parks and recreation

Numerous residents keep horses, and the town government maintains a network of horse trails. Some residents live on farmland used for business. The town is also popular among local cyclists and draws them in large numbers on weekends. The most popular road cycling routes include Old La Honda Road, King's Mountain Road, Cañada Road, Skyline Boulevard and Highway 84. The Tour of California bicycle race includes several roads along and adjacent to CA-84 and Skyline Boulevard. Woodside is home to a number of open space preserves, including the Purisima Open Space (part of the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space), where both horseback riding and bicycling are allowed. For mountain biking, the famous Skeggs Point is located in Woodside along Skyline Boulevard. It is also home to Huddart County Park, which is accessible by authorized motor vehicles, pedestrians, and horses on Kings Mountain Road. Wunderlich Park is extremely popular with both hiking and horse enthusiasts. Th
trails
in this park are shared by those on foot and on horse and span almost 1000 acres.


Arts and culture

Dr. Carl Djerassi founded an artists' colony south of Woodside in memory of his late daughter Pamela. The Djerassi Artists Residency is one of several Bay Area programs that houses artists.


Politics

In the
California State Legislature The California State Legislature is the bicameral state legislature of the U.S. state of California, consisting of the California State Assembly (lower house with 80 members) and the California State Senate (upper house with 40 members). ...
, Woodside is in , and in . Federally, Woodside is in .


Schools

The Woodside Elementary School District operates public elementary and middle schools. The Sequoia Union High School District operates Woodside High School. Funding for public schools in Woodside are supplemented by grants from private foundations set up for that purpose and funded by local residents that enables Woodside to have one of the highest per pupil funding rates for elementary school and middle school students in the Bay Area.


Points of interest

File:Filoli.JPG, Filoli Estate File:Woodside Library.jpg, Woodside Public Library File:Woodside California Hardware.jpg, alt=The Woodside Store, a local park includes a preserved historic hardware store., The Woodside Store, a local park includes a preserved historic hardware store. File:Folger Estate Stable Historic District, 4040 Woodside Rd., Woodside, CA 9-18-2011 4-24-36 PM.JPG, alt=Folger Estate Stable Historic District, within Wunderlich Park., Folger Estate Stable Historic District, within Wunderlich Park. File:Mortimer Fleishhacker House Roman Pool.jpg, Mortimer Fleishhacker House and Estate The city is served by the Woodside Public Library of the San Mateo County Libraries, a member of the
Peninsula Library System The Peninsula Library System (PLS) is a consortium of public and community college libraries in San Mateo County, California, San Mateo County, California, United States, which serves the part of the San Francisco Bay Area known as "San Francisco ...
.


In popular culture

The Mortimer Fleishhacker House was filmed as the Martin family house in the
Robin Williams Robin McLaurin Williams (July 21, 1951August 11, 2014) was an American actor and comedian known for his improvisational skills and the wide variety of characters he created on the spur of the moment and portrayed on film, in dramas and comedie ...
movie '' Bicentennial Man''. ''
Dynasty A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family, usually in the context of a monarchy, monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A dynasty may also be referred to as a "house", "family" or "clan", among others. H ...
'' was filmed at the Filoli Estate (not the interior of the mansion, but the exterior), as were the films '' The Wedding Planner'', '' The Game'', ''
Lolita ''Lolita'' is a 1955 novel written by Russian-American novelist Vladimir Nabokov. The protagonist and narrator is a French literature professor who moves to New England and writes under the pseudonym Humbert Humbert. He details his obsession ...
'', ''
George of the Jungle ''George of the Jungle'' is an American animated television series produced and created by Jay Ward and Bill Scott, who also created '' The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends''. The character George was inspired by the story of ...
'', '' Heaven Can Wait'', and '' Harold and Maude''. The musical '' Rent'' also has a scene filmed inside the Filoli Estate.


Notable people

Several notable people who live or have lived in Woodside, California, include:


Actors and entertainment

*
Michelle Pfeiffer Michelle Marie Pfeiffer ( ; born April 29, 1958) is an American actress. She was one of the most bankable stars in Cinema of the United States, Hollywood during the 1980s and 1990s, and her List of Michelle Pfeiffer performances, performances ...
, actress, and her husband David E. Kelley, television producer *
Shirley Temple Black Shirley Temple Black (born Shirley Jane Temple; April 23, 1928 – February 10, 2014) was an American actress, singer, dancer, and diplomat, who was Hollywood's number-one box-office draw as a child actress from 1934 to 1938. Later, she was na ...
, child movie star


Artists and designers

* Frances Baldwin, artist and painter * Margaret Keane, artist who produced popular paintings of "big eye" waifs, and Walter Keane, her husband, who falsely claimed he had painted them.


Business and entrepreneurs

*
Nolan Bushnell Nolan Kay Bushnell (born February 5, 1943) is an American businessman and electrical engineer. He established Atari, Inc. and the Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theatre chain. He has been inducted into the Video Game Hall of Fame and the Consu ...
, founder of Atari and Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza-Time Theater * Scott Cook, co-founder of Intuit, Inc. *
John Doerr L. John Doerr (born June 29, 1951) is an American investor and venture capitalist at Kleiner Perkins in Menlo Park, California. In February 2009, Doerr was appointed a member of the President's Economic Recovery Advisory Board to provide the ...
, venture capitalist *
Masayoshi Son Masayoshi Son (, , born Masayoshi Yasumoto, ; August 11, 1957) is an entrepreneur, investor, and philanthropist from Japan. A Zainichi Korean, he is the founder, representative director, corporate officer, chairman and CEO of SoftBank Group (SBG ...
, founder and CEO of
Softbank is a Japanese multinational Investment company, investment holding company headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, that focuses on investment management. The group primarily invests in companies operating in technology that offer goods and services ...
*
Larry Ellison Lawrence Joseph Ellison (born August 17, 1944) is an American businessman and entrepreneur who co-founded software company Oracle Corporation. He was Oracle's chief executive officer from 1977 to 2014 and is now its chief technology officer a ...
, CEO of
Oracle Corporation Oracle Corporation is an American Multinational corporation, multinational computer technology company headquartered in Austin, Texas. Co-founded in 1977 in Santa Clara, California, by Larry Ellison, who remains executive chairman, Oracle was ...
, who spent nine years building an architecturally authentic, $200+ million Japanese feudal castle and man-made lake in Woodside; *
Kenneth Fisher Kenneth Lawrence Fisher (born November 29, 1950) is an American billionaire investment analyst, author, and the founder and executive chairman of Fisher Investments, a fee-only financial adviser. Fisher's ''Forbes'' "Portfolio Strategy" column ...
, founder of Fisher Investments, ''
Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...
'' columnist, author, and local historian * James Folger, coffee magnate *
Kazuo Hirai is a Japanese businessman. He is best known as the former chairman of Sony Corporation, serving from April 2018 to June 2019, as well as president and CEO from April 2012 to April 2018. He also served as a board member of Sony Computer Entertain ...
, CEO of Sony Corporation *
Steve Jobs Steven Paul Jobs (February 24, 1955 – October 5, 2011) was an American businessman, inventor, and investor best known for co-founding the technology company Apple Inc. Jobs was also the founder of NeXT and chairman and majority shareholder o ...
, co-founder of
Apple Inc. Apple Inc. is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, in Silicon Valley. It is best known for its consumer electronics, software, and services. Founded in 1976 as Apple Comput ...
owned the Jackling House in Woodside, but had it demolished and was in the process of replacing it with a modern home on the same parcel before his death. * Mike Markkula, second CEO of Apple Inc. * Gordon E. Moore, co-founder of
Intel Intel Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California, and Delaware General Corporation Law, incorporated in Delaware. Intel designs, manufactures, and sells computer compo ...
and originator of
Moore's Law Moore's law is the observation that the Transistor count, number of transistors in an integrated circuit (IC) doubles about every two years. Moore's law is an observation and Forecasting, projection of a historical trend. Rather than a law of ...
* Charles R. Schwab, American investor and founder of
Charles Schwab Corporation The Charles Schwab Corporation is an American multinational Financial institution, financial services company. It offers banking, commercial banking, investing and related services including consulting, and wealth management advisory services ...
* Thomas Siebel, founder of
Siebel Systems Siebel Systems, Inc. () was an American software company principally engaged in the design, development, marketing, and support of customer relationship management (CRM) applications—notably Siebel CRM. The company was founded by Thomas Sieb ...
*
Jeffrey Skoll Jeffrey Stuart Skoll (born January 16, 1965) is a Canadian engineer, billionaire internet entrepreneur and film producer. He was the first president of eBay, eventually using the wealth this gave him to become a philanthropist, particularly thr ...
, Canadian internet entrepreneur * John Thompson, CEO of Symantec * Nick Woodman, founder and CEO of
GoPro GoPro, Inc. (marketed as GoPro and sometimes stylized as GoPRO) is an American technology company founded in 2002 by Nick Woodman. It manufactures action cameras and develops its own mobile apps and video editing software, video-editing software ...


Musicians

*
Joan Baez Joan Chandos Baez (, ; born January 9, 1941) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and activist. Her contemporary folk music often includes songs of protest and social justice. Baez has performed publicly for over 60 years, releasing mo ...
, folk singer *
Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian and American singer-songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, forming the folk rock group Buffalo Springfield. Since the begi ...
, rock musician and songwriter, who owns a ranch and recording studio.


Scientists

*
Carl Djerassi Carl Djerassi (October 29, 1923 – January 30, 2015) was an Austrian-born Bulgarian-American pharmaceutical chemist, novelist, playwright and co-founder of Djerassi Resident Artists Program with Diane Wood Middlebrook. He is best known for his ...
, novelist, Stanford professor, and member of team that developed the
birth control pill The combined oral contraceptive pill (COCP), often referred to as the birth control pill or colloquially as "the pill", is a type of birth control that is designed to be taken orally by women. It is the oral form of combined hormonal contra ...
* Koko, the gorilla who was taught in
American Sign Language American Sign Language (ASL) is a natural language that serves as the predominant sign language of Deaf communities in the United States and most of Anglophone Canadians, Anglophone Canada. ASL is a complete and organized visual language that i ...


Sports

*
Julian Edelman Julian Francis Edelman (born May 22, 1986) is an American former professional American football, football wide receiver who played in the National Football League (NFL) for twelve seasons with the New England Patriots. He played college footba ...
, football player, attended Woodside High School *
Willie McCovey Willie Lee McCovey (January 10, 1938 – October 31, 2018), nicknamed "Stretch" and "Willie Mac", was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a first baseman from 1959 to 1980, most notably as a member of ...
, played nineteen seasons for the
San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...
. McCovey Cove at
AT&T Park Oracle Park is a ballpark in the South of Market, San Francisco, SoMa district of San Francisco, California. Since 2000, it has been the home of the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball (MLB). The stadium stands along San Francisco Bay ...
, and Willie McCovey Field at Woodside Elementary School are named after him. * Zack Test, rugby union player * Bill Walsh, former
San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...
head coach and
Pro Football Hall of Fame The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional football (gridiron), professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, 1963, the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of profes ...
, who died on July 30, 2007. * Ricky Watters, Former NFL running back


Other

*
Prince Vasili Alexandrovich of Russia Prince Vasili Alexandrovich of Russia (7 July O.S. 24 June">Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Old Style and New Style dates">O.S. 24 June1907 – 24 June 1989) was the sixth son and youngest child of Grand Duke Alexander Mikha ...
, Russian royalty, nephew of Tsar Nicholas II


See also

* Skeggs Point, California


References


External links

*
Woodside Public Library – a branch of the San Mateo County Library
{{Authority control Populated places in San Mateo County, California Cities in the San Francisco Bay Area Incorporated cities and towns in California