History Happy Hour: History of the Bernal-Gulnac-Joice Ranch

History Happy Hour: History of the Bernal-Gulnac-Joice Ranch

🗓️ Friday, August 15, 2025

|5:30 PM – 7:30 PM

Ainsley House, Campbell, CA

🍷 Saddle up for a sip of history!

Join us at the historic Ainsley House for a fascinating evening exploring the story of the Bernal-Gulnac-Joice Ranch, a rare and beautifully preserved slice of California ranching history, now part of Santa Teresa County Park.

This 20-acre historic site is one of Santa Clara County Parks’ signature heritage areas. It preserves the legacy of Rancho Santa Teresa, a massive land grant awarded in 1834 to José Joaquín Bernal, one of San Jose’s earliest Spanish settlers. For nearly 150 years, Bernal descendants ran a working family ranch on the land, raising livestock, planting orchards, and adapting to changing times with ventures like water bottling and fertilizer mining.

Today, thanks to Santa Clara County Parks, the ranch remains a place where visitors can experience 19th-century ranch life firsthand, complete with a restored ranch house, barn, gardens, and the sacred Santa Teresa Spring—an important resource for both the Ohlone people and the families that came after.

At this special History Happy Hour, we’ll delve into the lives of the Bernal, Gulnac, and Joice families and how this remarkable site survived the wave of suburban expansion that overtook much of the valley. It’s a story of resilience, stewardship, and the enduring spirit of the land.