Exhibits

Timeline of Menlo Park

From its origins as Ohlone territory to its establishment as an Irish-inspired settlement in 1851, Menlo Park has transformed from a small railroad town into a vibrant Silicon Valley city, marked by milestones like the iconic Menlo Park Gates, the arrival of Facebook, and its meaningful connection to its Irish namesake through a sister city relationship with Galway.

The Untold Story of Round Table Pizza

How a restless Navy veteran and his no-nonsense wife built a pizza empire from scratch—literally—and turned a tiny parlor into a community icon.

A black and white photo of a train station with people standing outside.

A History of the Menlo Park Train Station

It takes some looking around, but Menlo Park has quite a few buildings dating back before the 1900s.

History of the Morey Family

Steve presented his slides, beginning with the 1860 Boston census listing of his great- grandfather Henry H.B. “Harry” Morey, then six-years-old, who came to San Francisco in the 1870s. One of the family businesses, Peninsula Building Materials, was founded on El Camino Real in the year 1923—100 years ago in 2023.

A man in a black shirt is talking about Ken Kesey and Kepler's Created Silicon Valley.

How Ken Kesey and Kepler's Created Silicon Valley

Kepler's served as a beacon for intellectuals which created the perfect environment to produce Silicon Valley

A black and white map of a city with a boy pointing to it.

The Streets of Menlo Park: Origins of the Street Names

Learn about how Alma, Middlefield, Santa Cruz, Sand Hill, Willow, Valparaiso and more got their names

Rancho de las Pulgas

Rancho de las Pulgas was a 35,240-acre (142.6 km2) 1795 Spanish land grant in present-day San Mateo County, California to José Darío Argüello.

A bronze plaque with the words Where are you? written on it.

Plaques of Menlo Park

Directory of various plaques that can be found across town

A man holding a guitar in front of a drum set.

Notable People from Menlo Park

A list of famous people from Menlo Park

Historical Landmarks

Portola Journey's End, Twentieth Century Folk Art Environments, Menlo Park Railroad Station

Historic Places

Menlo Park Railroad Station, Church of Nativity, Barron-Latham-Hopkins Gate Lodge

A black and white photo of a large white house with a tree in front of it.

Early Hotels

A brief review of Menlo Park's first three hotels

Dennis Oliver

He came to San Francisco for the gold, ended up with a paint business, and left us with a fantastically detailed diary of his time in Menlo Park

Dennis Martin

These notes are part of a long term project by the Menlo Park Historical Association to identify and document the history of all the plaques in Menlo Park.

A black and white photo of a church with a large stained glass window.

Churches of Menlo Park

Notes on the history of Menlo Park's historical churches

Camp Fremont

Camp Fremont was built in 1914 to train the 41st National Guard Division on the site where Fremont Memorial Park is today.

An elderly woman holding a painting of a lighthouse.

Art in Menlo

Rachel Bentley's watercolors and the early years of the Grateful Dead