Gilroy's 150th Anniversary

For nearly a century, the two blocks of Monterey Street south of 7th Street in Gilroy were home to two thriving groups of immigrant business owners—first Chinese and then Mexicans. It was a vibrant part of the small city where racial segregation forced a concentration...

Nine years after Gilroy was incorporated as a city, most of its landowners didn’t know the exact boundaries of their properties. But when the so-called “Cattle King” Henry Miller came into town and began purchasing property in the 26,000-acre Las Animas Rancho, where Gilroy was...

Gilroy artist Carol Peters prepares to paint a time capsule in celebration of the city’s sesquicentennial. The capsule was recently built by Louis Hack, and delivered to Peters for painting. Peters is a retired Gilroy High School art teacher, and the creator of the...

Gilroy’s sesquicentennial was one for the history books. But not in the way anyone had imagined going into 2020. A once-in-a-century pandemic transformed daily life for not only Gilroyans, but the world. As a result, various sesquicentennial events planned throughout 2020 were canceled. However, Gilroy’s 150th...

Much of the life of Gilroy’s namesake is unknown to many people, said Phill Laursen of the Gilroy Historical Society. As the city’s sesquicentennial wraps up, Gilroyans now have the chance to learn more about John Gilroy and how he arrived in Rancho San Ysidro,...

In 1833, John Gilroy described himself as a soap maker and millwright. In 1842, there were  several references to the flourmill of William Mathews “at Gilroy’s.” By 1845, the era of Spanish and Mexican colonization was coming to an end in the region. The...