Leaving the majority of the party of men, women, and children in Monterey to rest from their travels, de Anza, his diarist and cartographer, Petrus Font, and 18 other men pressed on through the Santa Clara Valley in late March to their San Francisco destination.

With the expedition encamped in what is now Cupertino, Font christened the creek next to the encampment the Arroyo San Joseph Cupertino in honor of his patron, San Guiseppe (San Joseph) of Cupertino, Italy. The arroyo is now known as Stevens Creek.

Crossroads

The village of Cupertino sprang up at the crossroads of Saratoga-Sunnyvale Road (now De Anza Boulevard) and Stevens Creek Boulevard. It was first known as West Side; but, by 1898 the post office at the Crossroads needed a new name to distinguish it from other similarly named towns. John T. Doyle, a San Francisco lawyer and historian, had given the name Cupertino to his winery in recognition of the name bestowed on the nearby creek by Petrus Font. In 1904 the name was applied to the Crossroads and to the post office when the Home Union Store incorporated under the name, The Cupertino Stores, Inc.

Vineyards and Orchards

Many of Cupertino's pioneer European settlers planted their land in grapes. Vineyards and wineries proliferated on Montebello Ridge, on the lower foothills, and on the flat lands below.
After 1906 a lot more than grape growing was going on in Cupertino. Orchards were thriving and new businesses were being started. In the late 1940's Cupertino was swept up in Santa Clara Valley's postwar population explosion. Concerned by unplanned development, higher taxes, and piecemeal annexation to adjacent cities, Cupertino's community leaders began a drive in 1954 for incorporation. Cupertino rancher Norman Nathanson, the Cupertino-Monta Vista Improvement Association, and the Fact Finding Committee played important roles in this movement.

Incorporation

Incorporation was approved in the September 27, 1955 election. Cupertino officially became Santa Clara County's 13th City on October 10, 1955. A major milestone in Cupertino's development was the creation by some of the city's largest landowners of VALLCO Business and Industrial Park in the early 1960's. Of the 25 property owners, 17 decided to pool their land to form VALLCO Park, six sold to Varian Associates, a thriving young electronics firm, founded by Russell Varian, and two opted for transplanting to farms elsewhere. The name VALLCO was derived from the names of the principal developers: Varian Associates and the Leonard, Lester, Craft, and Orlando families.