User:Cycleogical/sandbox

[History] In the early 1800s, land in present-day San Ramon where Bishop Ranch Business Park is located, was part of the Mission San Jose, and was used primarily for cattle and sheep grazing. Today, Bishop Ranch has 10 million-square-feet of office space in a 597 acre (241 hectare) business community that is home to more than 550 companies and 33,000 employees in San Ramon, California.

Two San Ramon Valley ranchos were granted to former Presidio soldiers when Alta, California, was ruled by Mexico. Don Jose Maria Amador was formerly the Major Domo (Administrator) at Sonoma Mission and was at Mission San Jose in the same capacity. A huge rancho (Ranchos San Ramon) was granted to him – north to south from what is now Crow Canyon Road to the border of Dublin, and east to west between the two ranges of hills –approximately 20,000 acres. On his land at Ranchos San Ramon, Amador grazed 24,000 cattle, sheep and pigs. He built the first adobe houses at Ranchos San Ramon and farmed the land. In 1826, Amador and his wife Dolores Pacheco moved to their granted land area. Shops were built by Native Americans to produce cloth, shoes, soap, saddles, furniture, farm tools, and harnesses. His vineyard held 1500 vines and 50 trees in the orchard (1832). With the arrival of the Southern Pacific Railroad tracks in 1891, San Ramon became the permanent name of the village at the end of the branch line. In 1958, the Contra Costa County General Plan designated 464 acres as “controlled manufacturing (C-M).” These acres ultimately became the Bishop Ranch Business Park. There were four unsuccessful attempts to put a San Ramon Valley city in place between the 1950s and 1970s. The last three included parts of San Ramon, excluding part or all of the Bishop Ranch area. The Ranch was always a variable in incorporation efforts. Growth in the 1960s was facilitated by the extension of Interstate 580 through the Livermore Valley and I-680 from Walnut Creek to I-580. In 1966 the new Interstate 680 freeway was completed through San Ramon to Dublin. In 1969, Western Electric purchased 1,733 acres of the original Bishop Ranch and proposed a "new town" complete with a variety of housing, green belts, stores and light industry, placed in the center of San Ramon. In the 1970s, part of the land became new homes and the 585 acre Bishop Ranch Business Park began to take shape with the arrival of Beckman Instruments, Toyota, Chevron, and Pacific Bell. The I-680 corridor became an alternative center of business activity to San Francisco and Oakland. In 1987 the Business Park annexed to the City of San Ramon. Approximately 9 million square feet of office space now exists in Bishop Ranch.

[Location] Bishop Ranch is primarily on a plot bounded by 680 to the West, Alcosta to the East, Crow Canyon to the North, and Bolinger Canyon to the South. It surrounds the San Ramon Transit Center. County Connection express bus service connects Bishop Ranch to Regional Transit such as BART in Walnut Creek, BART in Dublin, as well as the Ace Train in Pleasanton. Local service provided by County Connection serves destinations throughout the 680 corridor. The Iron Horse Trail provides Class 1 bicycle trail access to Bishop Ranch along a paved trail built on the old Southern Pacific Railroad right of way. The trail provides a flat and direct connection for regional cycling from Walnut Creek BART and Dublin BART to Bishop Ranch. Electric vehicle charging and Compressed Natural Gas fueling are both available in Bishop Ranch. [Edit]References

[Edit]External links
 * Corridor Country, An Interpretive History of the Amador-Livermore Valley. Volume I, the Spanish-Mexican Period." Reginald R. Stuart and Grace D. Stuart. 1966. The Amador-Livermore Valley Historical Society, 601 Main Street, Pleasanton, California 94566.
 * http://jstokes.com/current/2011/04/
 * Historical Persons and Places in the San Ramon Valley by Virgie V. Jones, 1977.
 * Ibid, Corridor Country, An Interpretive History of the Amador-Livermore Valley. Volume I, the Spanish-Mexican Period." Reginald R. Stuart and Grace D. Stuart
 * http://www.museumsrv.org/MuseumoftheSanRamonValleyHistoryHomeRuleVI.html
 * Section 4.1 of the Land Use section of the San Ramon Genaral Plan - http://www.sanramon.ca.gov/gprc/draft-gp/gpland.pdf
 * http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20120719005381/en/Bishop-Ranch-Announces-Blink%C2%AE-DC-Fast-Electric