History of San Jose, California many orchards in the Santa Clara Valley, which emitted a delightful smell of ripening fruit, that a common nickname for the Santa Clara Valley was "The Valley of Heart's Delight". Food Machinery Corporation (FMC) was founded in nearby Los Gatos as the "Bean Spray Pump Company" in 1884 and moved to San Jose in 1903. In 1941 the company received an order from the United States War Department for one thousand LVTs, bringing defense contracts to San Jose for the first time. After World War II, FMC continued as a defense contractor, with the San Jose facilities designing and manufacturing
Chinatowns in San Jose Chinatowns in San Jose The city of San Jose was home to five Chinatowns that existed until the 1930s: The city of San Jose is home to 63,434 Chinese Americans according to the 2010 U.S. Census, comprising 6.7% of the city's population. The initial Chinatowns in San Jose were frequently burned down by arson, with artifacts from May 1887 discovered during initial excavations in the construction of the Fairmont Hotel. Many of these artifacts were installed at the San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art, and are housed in the archives of Stanford University. Another Chinatown was excavated during an urban