How about a little P-Town history?

We, at Elation Real Estate, love the Tri-Valley but also hold a special place in our hearts for Pleasanton.  Gosh, what a pleasant town.  Wait, is that how Pleasanton got its name?  Pleasant Town = Pleasanton?

Let’s find out…

Incorporated in 1864, Pleasanton just celebrated it’s 125th “Birthday”.  But how did it all go down?

Well, Jose Amador… ah, a familiar name, I’m sure… brought the first Spanish settlement to the valley in 1826.  And, as you know, the Amador Valley still bears his name today.

The first non-Spanish settler in the immediate area of Pleasanton was Augustine Bernal (another familiar name?) in 1850. The adobe house he built on Foothill Road is still standing today.  You should totally go check it out.  And, if you like hiking, there is a brutal, but super fun, 2-mile climb that starts right there.

A year later, John W. Kottinger arrived and HE is responsible for the naming of Pleasanton!  “What a Pleasant Town this is.”, he thought.  Well, no, that’s actually not true.  Well… he might have thought that, but that has nothing to do with how Pleasanton got its name.

In fact, Kottinger named the town after a really good friend of his, a distinguished Civil War general named Alfred Pleasonton.  Now, I know what you are thinking.  Why isn’t our great city called Pleasonton, with an “o” since that is how his friend spelled his name?  Would you believe that a recording clerk, clear across the country in Washington DC made a spelling error??  Lucky for us, that’s exactly what happened! She did.  We think her mistake resulted in a much more appropriate name! What do you think?

So next time you are driving down Main Street and you pass underneath the iconic Pleasanton Sign, you can think to yourself, “Man, what a Pleasant Town this is! Thank you, random recording clerk, in Washington DC.  If you were still alive today, at the ripe old age of 209, I would love to shake your hand.”

From all of us at Elation Real Estate, have a Pleasant day.