Fremont is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. It is located in the East Bay region of the Bay Area. As of 2020, Fremont had a population of 230,504, making it the fourth most populous city in the Bay Area, after San Jose, San Francisco, and Oakland. Fremont is the closest East Bay city to the Silicon Valley area, which has many technology companies. The city’s largest employer is a Tesla manufacturing plant, which employed 25,000 people as of 2024.
Fremont’s history began with a community that formed around Mission San José. This mission was founded in 1797 by the Spanish, led by Padre Fermín Lasuén. Fremont was officially formed on January 23, 1956, when the towns of Mission San José, Centerville, Niles, Irvington, and Warm Springs joined to create one city. The city is named after John C. Frémont, a general who helped lead the United States’ takeover of California from Mexico. Later, he became the Military Governor of California and then a U.S. Senator.
History
The recorded history of the Fremont area began on June 6, 1797, when Mission San José was founded by Father Fermín de Lasuén, a Spanish priest. The mission was built on the land where the Ohlone tribe lived, near what is now San Francisco and Monterey. The Ohlone people lived in dome-shaped homes made of redwood bark or woven tule. They hunted and gathered food, with men hunting animals like deer and rabbits, and women collecting nuts, berries, and roots. They lived near rivers and estuaries because these areas had fish and shellfish to eat. In warm weather, men often wore little clothing, but in winter, they wore capes made of animal hides or feathers. Ceremonies also influenced what men wore. Women wore skirts made of tule or bark and covered them with deerskin aprons.
Before 1769, the Ohlone lived peacefully. However, Spanish soldiers and missionaries arrived in California to spread Catholicism and expand Spanish control. The Ohlone people were not afraid of the priests and joined the missions to live and work. Before the missions, the tribe used tools made of stone, bones, and wood. Missionaries taught them to make metal tools and adobe bricks, which were used to build missions. The Spanish brought cattle, pigs, and sheep and encouraged the Ohlone to farm instead of hunt. Living in missions forced the Ohlone to convert to Christianity and abandon their beliefs about nature. Overpopulation and diseases brought by the Spanish caused many deaths and hardship.
On the second day of their visit, the mission group killed a grizzly bear in Niles Canyon. The first English-speaking person to visit Fremont was Jedediah Smith, a famous trapper and explorer, in 1827. The mission grew and had 1,887 people in 1831. The influence of the missionaries declined after 1834 when the Mexican government changed the rules about missions.
José de Jesus Vallejo, brother of Mariano Vallejo, received the Rancho Arroyo de la Alameda land grant. His family was important in Fremont and built a flour mill at the mouth of Niles Canyon. In 1846, John C. Frémont led a military group to map a trail through Mission Pass and claim California for the United States.
Fremont grew quickly during the California Gold Rush. A town called Mission San José formed around the old mission, with its own post office starting in 1850. Farming was the main industry, with grapes, nursery plants, and olives as key crops. In 1868, a strong earthquake on the Hayward Fault damaged Mission San José and its buildings. Until the 1906 San Francisco earthquake destroyed it, the Palmdale Winery was the largest in California. The ruins of the winery are still near the Five Corners in Irvington. From 1912 to 1915, the Niles area was the birthplace of California’s movie industry, and Charlie Chaplin filmed some of his movies there.
Fremont became a city in 1956 when five towns—Irvington, Centerville, Mission San José, Niles, and Warm Springs—joined together. Glenmoor Gardens, the largest neighborhood in Fremont, was being built by developers and engineers. The Glenmoor Gardens Homeowners Association was formed in 1953 to manage services like police and fire protection.
Fremont became more industrial between 1953 and 1962. The first Fremont post office opened in 1956. In the 1980s and 1990s, Fremont grew rapidly due to high-tech jobs, especially in the Warm Springs District. This growth connected Fremont to Silicon Valley. The Apple factory, where the first Mac computer was made, was in Fremont until 1993. Other companies like Cirrus Logic and Lam Research also opened there. By 1999, about 750 high-tech companies had offices or factories in Fremont.
The General Motors car plant in South Fremont was the city’s largest employer, and Fremont was known for its drag strip. In the 1980s, the plant became a joint venture between Toyota and General Motors and was renamed NUMMI. Toyota and NUMMI closed in 2010, and Tesla later bought part of the plant to build cars.
Solyndra, a
Geography
In 1956, five small, independent towns—Centerville, Niles, Irvington, Mission San José, and Warm Springs—located between the East Bay rolling hills and the San Francisco Bay were added to a single new, incorporated city called Fremont. Six decades later, these areas have grown significantly, are no longer separate communities, and are now considered districts or community plan areas of the City of Fremont. The town of Newark was originally planned to join the annex, but its voters decided against it because Newark representatives feared it would become an industrial area. Newark became its own incorporated city in 1955. Later, Newark added a piece of unincorporated land between Mowry Avenue and Stevenson Boulevard, now occupied by Newpark Mall and surrounding plazas. Since becoming a city, Fremont has created six additional districts, called "community plan areas," for planning purposes. These include Central, North Fremont, South Fremont, and Bayside. The other two districts, Baylands and the Hill Areas, are mostly open space.
The area including Fremont, Newark, and Union City is known as the Tri-City Area. This is different from the nearby Tri-Valley area, which includes Pleasanton, Dublin, and Livermore.
Centerville was once the main town in Washington Township. It is located at 37°33′15″N 121°59′57″W / 37.55417°N 121.99917°W / 37.55417; -121.99917 (Centerville) and sits at an elevation of 52 feet (16 meters). Centerville was started by George Lloyd, who sold cold beer to stagecoach passengers from a tent in 1850. Captain George Bond later opened a general store, and the town was named Centerville. The Centerville Post Office opened in 1855 and changed its name to Centerville in 1893. The Centerville Pioneer Cemetery holds the burial places of many of the city's early settlers.
Centerville has roots in Native American history. Early settlers included Spanish, Mexican, Italian, Portuguese, and Swiss (Swiss Park) people, who helped the town grow.
Early Centerville was a quiet farming community with large Spanish land grants divided into smaller farms. The Freitas Ranch on Thornton Ave was likely the largest working farm. The area had apricot orchards, fruit and nut trees, and fields of fresh produce.
After President Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066, which allowed military commanders to move Japanese Americans from certain areas for national defense, many Centerville farming families were ordered to leave their homes.
Centerville was an important stop for early railways, allowing farmers to transport produce quickly to market. A large cannery once stood on Baine Ave (now Peralta) near the tracks. In 1959, the cannery burned in the largest fire in Fremont's history, lasting two days and ending the cannery’s role as Centerville’s largest employer. The cannery was never rebuilt.
After World War II, housing developments appeared in Centerville. Early homes were built along Fremont Blvd from Decoto Road south to Washington High School, along Thornton Ave from Fremont Blvd west to the Newark city border, and along Peralta Blvd from Fremont Blvd to Niles.
For city planning, Centerville was expanded to include most of the north central residential section of Fremont, from Mowry Ave to Decoto Rd, and from I-880 to the BART line. This area includes subdivisions like Glenmoor Gardens, Cabrillo Park, Brookvale, Quarry Lakes Regional Recreation Area, and part of Parkmont. The area has two high schools—Washington High School (established in 1892) and American High School (established in 1972)—and two middle schools: Centerville Middle School and Thornton Middle School, which now stands on the site of the Freitas Ranch.
The former town of Niles is separated from other parts of Fremont and Union City by Mission Boulevard (State Route 238) to the east and north, Alameda Creek to the south, the Union Pacific Railroad to the west and southeast, and Quarry Lakes to the southwest. The hills of Niles are lower than those in Mission San Jose. Old Town Niles has its own library, post office, silent movie theater, and many antique and craft stores. Niles is located at 37°34′44″N 121°58′40″W / 37.57889°N 121.97778°W / 37.57889; -121.97778 (Niles District) and sits at an elevation of 112 feet (34 meters).
The community, once called Vallejo Mills, was named after the Central Pacific Railroad’s Niles junction and station, opened in April 1870 as part of the First Transcontinental Railroad. The station was named after Addison Niles, a railroad attorney and stockholder who later became an associate justice on the California Supreme Court. A post office opened in Niles on Vallejo Street in 1873.
Niles was the West Coast home (1912–1916) of Essanay Studios, one of the first motion picture companies. Charlie Chaplin and Broncho Billy Anderson filmed some of their most famous silent movies in Niles and the scenic Niles Canyon between Niles and Sunol. The Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum displays artifacts from Niles’ early years and screens silent films on Saturdays.
The Niles Canyon Railway runs along Alameda Creek and offers weekend train rides, including a popular holiday "train of lights" event. Tickets for these trains often sell out by early October. The railway has a small collection of historic trains.
Part of historic Niles is Mayhew Spring, also called Mayhew’s Sulphur Spring, owned by H.A. Meyhew and located 600 feet (180 meters) north of the Niles railroad station. In September 1869, four months after the golden spike ceremony at Promontory Summit, Utah, the Central Pacific Railroad completed the transcontinental rail link between Sacramento and the San Francisco Bay. Trains switched at the San Jose junction in the canyon, and the Central Pacific later built a junction in the valley, opening it as Niles in April 1870.
Another part of Niles is the 1909 Niles Junction built by the Western Pacific Railroad, located at 37°34′35″N 121°58′17″W / 37.57639°N 121.97139°W / 37.57639; -121.97139 (Niles Junction WPRR) and situated at an elevation of 79 feet (24 meters).
The Irvington District area, once the town of Irving, has had many name changes over time. In the early 1850s, two emanc
Demographics
According to the census estimate, the median income for a household in the city from 2020 to 2024 (in 2024 dollars) was $181,506. About 4.5% of the population lived below the poverty line, including 5.9% of those under age 18 and 6.2% of those age 65 or over. The most common ancestries were Indian (29.3%), Chinese (19.1%), Mexican (9.1%), Filipino (6.9%), English (4.9%), and German (4.8%).
The 2010 United States census reported that Fremont had a population of 214,089. The population density was 2,443.7 inhabitants per square mile (943.5/km²).
The Census reported that 212,438 people (99.2% of the population) lived in households, 969 (0.5%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 682 (0.3%) were institutionalized.
There were 71,004 households, out of which 31,070 (43.8%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 45,121 (63.5%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 7,070 (10.0%) had a female householder with no husband present, 3,382 (4.8%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 2,779 (3.9%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships and 444 (0.6%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 11,576 households (16.3%) were made up of individuals, and 3,697 (5.2%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.99. There were 55,573 families (78.3% of all households); the average family size was 3.36.
The population was spread out, with 53,216 people (24.9%) under the age of 18, 15,610 people (7.3%) aged 18 to 24, 66,944 people (31.3%) aged 25 to 44, 56,510 people (26.4%) aged 45 to 64, and 21,809 people (10.2%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36.8 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.4 males.
There were 73,989 housing units at an average density of 844.5 units per square mile (326.1 units/km²), of which 71,004 were occupied, of which 44,463 (62.6%) were owner-occupied, and 26,541 (37.4%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.3%; the rental vacancy rate was 4.5%. 136,606 people (63.8% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 75,832 people (35.4%) lived in rental housing units.
Fremont has a large Deaf community, partly because it is home to the Northern California campus of the California School for the Deaf. The school district is called the Fremont Unified School District, which also serves parts of Union City and Hayward.
Economy
Companies based in Fremont include Antec Inc, Electronics for Imaging, Ikanos Communications, Lam Research, Seagate Technology, Fremont Bank, Nielsen Norman Group, Oplink Communications, SYNNEX, S3 Graphics, Tailored Brands, and DCKAP.
According to the city's June 2024 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, the top employers in the city are:
Culture and recreation
The City of Fremont has been recognized as a Tree City USA since 1996. There are about 55,000 trees located in city parks, along streets, and in landscaped areas near roads. The city manages the Olive Hyde Art Gallery, which is next to Mission San Jose. This gallery has shown works by Bay Area artists such as Wendy Yoshimura, the California Society of Printmakers, and the Etsy collective. The public gallery is located in a former home of Olive Hyde, who is a descendant of early San Francisco Mayor George Hyde.
Other cultural, historical, or scientific landmarks in Fremont include Fremont Central Park and Lake Elizabeth, Ardenwood Historic Farm, California Nursery Historical Park, Don Edwards National Wildlife Refuge, Mission Peak Regional Preserve, Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum, Washington Township Museum of Local History, Quarry Lakes Regional Recreation Area, Shinn Park and Arboretum, and Coyote Hills Regional Park.
The Tri-City Voice, a weekly newspaper, was founded in 2002. It serves Fremont and nearby cities of Union City and Newark. The newspaper is based in Fremont and publishes the city's legal notices.
Government
The mayor of Fremont is elected for a four-year term and leads the city government. The mayor also chairs the city council, which includes four elected council members. In 2018, two new seats were added to the council, increasing the total number of seats to seven when district-based elections began. The city council creates the city's budget and makes major decisions. It also appoints a city manager and city attorney. The city manager hires staff and manages daily operations. Advisory groups help the council with some issues, and the mayor selects members of these groups with the approval of most council members. Most advisory group members serve four-year terms without pay, except for planning commissioners.
The city provides services such as public safety, land use rules, infrastructure maintenance, parks, recreation, and local social services. These services are managed by 22 city departments, including Animal Services and Transportation Engineering.
In 2009, the city had $280 million in revenue, $200 million in spending, $1.2 billion in assets, $340 million in cash and investments, and $260 million in liabilities. By 2015, the city’s annual budget was $160 million, and it employed 800 people.
The city council must approve a balanced budget by July 1 each year. In some years, budget issues led to reduced services, fewer city workers, or agreements with labor unions to lower wages.
Special districts, such as the Alameda County Water District and Union Sanitary District, provide water and sewer services. A private company, Republic Services (formerly Allied Waste), handles garbage collection and recycling.
In 2015, a grand jury found that the city did not follow state laws about keeping public records. The city deleted most emails after 30 days instead of the required two years. Emails were labeled as "unsaved drafts" unless saved manually. Councilmember emails, which used fremont.gov addresses, were not recorded and sent to private accounts. City officials claimed deleting emails would save storage costs, but the grand jury said following the law would not be costly.
In 2018, the city changed from at-large elections to district-based elections for all but one council seat. Two new seats were added, increasing the total from five to seven. Six seats required candidates to live in specific districts, while the mayor’s seat remained at-large. The council decided district boundaries in 2017, a decision criticized as possibly favoring two current council members. This change was required after a group claimed Latino residents, who made up 14% of the population, were not properly represented. Few or no Latino residents were elected to the council between 1956 and 2017. Some suggested that voting patterns may have been influenced by race.
As of February 20, 2024, Fremont had 118,717 registered voters. Of these, 59,594 (50.19%) were registered Democrats, 17,021 (14.34%) were registered Republicans, and 37,095 (31.24%) did not choose a political party.
Education
The Fremont Unified School District has five high schools for grades 9–12: American, Irvington, Kennedy, Mission San Jose, and Washington. The Tak Fudenna Stadium, which holds 5,000 people, is used by all five high schools for football, track, soccer, and graduation ceremonies. These five high schools, along with James Logan High School in Union City and Newark Memorial High School in Newark, are part of the Mission Valley Athletic League (M.V.A.L.).
The district includes a continuation high school (Robertson), two independent study programs (Vista and COIL), an adult school, five middle schools for grades 6–8 (Centerville, Hopkins, Horner, Thornton, and Walters), and 29 elementary schools. The district also operates the Mission Valley Regional Occupational Program together with the Newark and New Haven Unified School Districts.
In 2019, William Hopkins JHS, Mission San Jose HS, John F. Kennedy HS, and American HS were awarded the California Distinguished Schools Award, which is given by the California Department of Education.
Fremont Christian School and Averroes High School in Fremont are not part of the Fremont Unified School District (FUSD). The California School for the Deaf, Fremont serves students in Northern California and is located on the same campus as the California School for the Blind.
The Ohlone Community College District has Ohlone College in Fremont and a smaller campus in Newark. The University of Phoenix Bay Area Campus and San Francisco Bay University offer undergraduate and graduate programs in technology and management.
The Alameda County Library is based in Fremont. The Fremont Main Library is the largest branch of the Alameda County Library and has the highest number of books checked out. It shares its building with the Alameda County Library Administration and includes the Maurice Marks Center for Local and California History and the Fukaya public meeting room. Other branches of the Alameda County Library are located in Centerville, Irvington, and Niles.
Transportation
Fremont is connected to Interstate 880 (Nimitz Freeway) and Interstate 680 (Sinclair Freeway). These highways do not cross each other, but they are linked through the Warm Springs district by a one-mile section of Mission Boulevard, which is also known as State Route 262. Additionally, Fremont is connected to State Route 84 and another part of Mission Boulevard, which is State Route 238. The city is the eastern end point of the Dumbarton Bridge.
High noise levels are present along Interstate 880. To reduce these sounds, Caltrans and the city have built noise barriers along the highway.
Regional train services in Fremont include BART and the Altamont Corridor Express (ACE). Fremont’s BART station was once the southernmost end of the BART system. A 5.4-mile (8.7 km) BART extension to the Warm Springs / South Fremont station opened on March 25, 2017. A later extension to Santa Clara County, including the Milpitas and Berryessa/North San José stations, opened on June 13, 2020. A further BART extension to downtown San Jose is currently under construction. The Fremont-Centerville BART station serves as a stop for ACE trains, which run between Stockton and San Jose, and for Amtrak’s Capitol Corridor service. Local bus service is provided by AC Transit.
Caltrain is studying the Dumbarton Rail Corridor, which would connect the Peninsula to Alameda County. This project includes plans to add Caltrain stations in Union City, Fremont-Centerville, Newark, and Menlo Park / East Palo Alto. The project is currently in the environmental and engineering review phase.
Sister cities
Fremont was a sister city to Elizabeth, South Australia until 1997. That year, Elizabeth joined Munno Para to create the new city of Playford. Today, Fremont is twinned with the following cities: