Current day Pleasanton, California was originally inhabited by Ohlone Indians, when Spanish Captain Pedro Fages first explored the land in 1772, looking for sites for a mission. In 1826, Jose Amador settled the valley with Spanish families, hence the current name of the area, Amador Valley. With the abundance of land, these families obtained huge tracts of land each for their home, gardens, and fields, and the area quickly became known for its agriculture. The Spanish called the area “Alisal”, the name for the cottonwood trees prevalent in this town.

In 1839, the Bernal family acquired the land that is now Pleasanton as a land grant from the Mexicans, who owned all of California and much of the Southwest. In the next few decades, the town was used as a stop for gold seekers and miners heading to the mountains and rivers.

Augustine Bernal had two daughters, and their husbands were immigrants to California. One was an Austrian named John W. Kottinger, and the other was an American named Joshua Neal. John Kottinger and Joshua Neal established the city of Pleasonton in 1851, named after the Civil War General Alfred Pleasonton. Pleasanton officially became a city in 1894. The name changed from Pleasonton (with an “o”) to the way it is spelled today (with an “a”) because of a typing error by a clerk in Washington D.C.

This page is part of the series
Pleasanton’s Hometown History
http://PleasantonHometownHistory.blogspot.com