City of Sunnyvale

Oral Histories
Sunnyvale Voices
Life in early Sunnyvale as told by the people who lived it! The Sunnyvale Voices project recorded the voices of longtime residents and illustrated the stories through historical photographs. Check out a DVD or VHS compilation of the stories from the Library, or read, listen, or watch the stories right now online.

Population
Historical US Census Population for Sunnyvale, CA
     1920 - 1,675
     1930 - 3,094
     1940 - 4,373
     1950 - 9,829
     1960 - 52,898
     1970 - 95,976
     1980 - 106,618
     1990 - 117,229
     2000 - 131,760
(Source: California Department of Finance, Demographics Research Unit)

Publications
Sunnyvale Historical Eras: Agriculture, Defense, High-Tech (2001)
Essays on the agricultural, defense, and high-tech eras of Sunnyvale history. Written by Mary Jo Ignoffo, author Sunnyvale, From the City of Destiny to the Heart of the Silicon Valley. Created for the Sunnyvale Voices project, a project of the Sunnyvale Public Library.

City of Destiny (1990)
A history of Sunnyvale from the arrival of the pioneer family of Martin Murphy, Jr. to the post-war era. Written by Ann Hines, a founding member of Sunnyvale's Heritage Preservation Commission and local preservation activist, and published by the Sunnyvale Chamber of Commerce under contract with the City of Sunnyvale.

Sunnyvale Story (1973)
Tells the history of Sunnyvale from the coming of the Spanish, and reports on the present accomplishments and future goals of the City. Published by the City of Sunnyvale.

Sunnyvale Collection
The Sunnyvale Collection is located within the Sunnyvale Public Library. The collection preserves and shares a record of the evolution of the community, past and present. The focus is on Sunnyvale, Silicon Valley and San Francisco. We follow the definition of Silicon Valley used by the Joint Venture Silicon Valley Network - roughly Santa Clara County and adjacent areas of San Mateo, Santa Cruz and Alameda Counties.

The collection includes books, yearbooks, City of Sunnyvale documents, NASA/Ames Moffett Field documents, historical business directories, newspapers, maps, historical society newsletters, and videos.

Timeline
From 3,000 B.C. to the present, this historical timeline of Sunnyvale presents some of the highlights of the City's history.

Web Sites
Forgotten Journey: The Stephens - Townsend - Murphy Saga
thecaliforniatrail.com

Historic Del Monte Building
www.thehistoricdelmonte.com/pagesfolder/history.html

Moffett Field (National Park Service)www.nps.gov/nr/travel/santaclara/usn.htm

Moffett Field History
www.moffettfieldmuseum.org/history.html

Murphy Family Story (Sunnyvale Heritage Park Museum)
www.heritageparkmuseum.org/murphy.html

Murphy Family Timeline (Sunnyvale Heritage Park Museum)
www.heritageparkmuseum.org/timeline.html

Santa Clara County Early History (National Park Service)
www.nps.gov/nr/travel/santaclara/history.htm

Silicon Valley History Online
www.siliconvalleyhistory.org

Sunnyvale, California - Wikipedia Article
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunnyvale,_California

Sunnyvale Heritage Park Museum
www.heritageparkmuseum.org/museum.html

Sunnyvale Public Library • 665 W. Olive Ave., Sunnyvale CA 94086
(408) 730-7300 • www.sunnyvalelibrary.org
Contact Us • Site Map

Did You Know?

Before the area became officially known as Sunnyvale in 1901, it was called Murphy's Station in 1864 and Encinal in 1880.