Calendar & Special Events | Washington Township Museum of Local History

To find out what we’ve been up to, please see our most recent newsletter and check out our Facebook page.

Questions? Call us at 510-623-7907 or email us at info@museumoflocalhistory.org

Walking Tour Schedule 2025

Tours have concluded for 2025.

Tours are free and they take place Spring through Summer each year.
Stay tuned in 2026 for the upcoming schedule!

Have questions about historic walking tours? Call us at 510-623-7907 or email us at info@museumoflocalhistory.org.

Upcoming Events

Las Posadas
Las Posadas, a holiday tradition, has been produced by the Fremont Cultural Arts Council and sponsored by the Old Mission San Jose in Fremont annually since 1982. The Museum will be hosting on Friday, December 19, with Santa’s Tallest Elves.

Mission San Jose Christmas Tree Lighting
We will be doing arts and crafts for kids at the Mission San Jose Chamber‘s Tree Lighting on Saturday, December 6.

Washington Township Museum of Local History (and Archives)

The Museum and California native garden is open weekly on Wednesdays & Fridays, and monthly on the 2nd Saturday & Sunday, as well as the 4th Sunday. All hours are 10 am – 4 pm.

Suggested donation: $2 per visitor / $5 per family.

Museum members and children 5 and under are always FREE.

We are located at 190 Anza Street in the Mission San Jose district of Fremont.

Questions? Want to book a private tour or see the museum when we are not scheduled to be open? Let’s talk! Call us at 510-623-7907 or email us at info@museumoflocalhistory.org. Thank you!

The museum is closed for the holidays from December 20th – January 6th. We reopen at 10am on WED 01/07/2026

Rancho Higuera Historical Park

Visit Rancho Higuera Historical Park and its beautifully restored adobe!

The view of Fremont and its surroundings is spectacular from this particular spot. Pack a picnic lunch and enjoy the park.

Open Dates & Times: 10 am – 12 noon on the 2nd Saturday of each month (April through August ONLY), weather permitting.

Guests are invited to visit the Galindo-Higuera adobe, located on the Rancho del Agua Caliente. This rancho was awarded to Fulgencio Higuera in 1839 by then Governor Juan B. Alvarado. At the time, this land consisted of 9,563 acres or 15 square miles, and it supported 11,000 head of cattle and several hundred horses.

Our guests can still enjoy the verdant green hills and can imagine what it looked like with no fences, and with rancho cattle dotting the hillsides.

140 years later, in 1979, the adobe was falling down. Historians, architects, preservationists, and archaeologists agreed that the adobe was significant and worth saving; and thus, the restoration began. A total of 7,500 bricks had to be made to replace those that were missing.

Inside the building now are displays that describe the hide and tallow trade, a video that shows how the land was used from the Ohlone period to the restoration, as well as a display of Ohlone artifacts.

This adobe and its current 20 acres represent an important chapter in Spanish-Mexican history in California, and we at the Washington Township Museum of Local History are happy to share this gem with you.

Special activities for children (and adults): brick making, branding with paint, design-a-brand, corn husk and/or clothespin dollmaking, candle dipping, play horseshoes.

Visit this culturally significant site, with a history extending back to Fulgencio Higuera a descendent of Jose Higuera who came to California from Spain on the de Anza expedition (1775-1776). The original adobe home was constructed in 1840.

Rancho Higuera Historical Park hosts field trips during the standard school year. The park is closed to the public September through March.

Questions? Want to book a private tour or see the grounds when we are not scheduled to be open? Let’s talk! Call us at 510-623-7907 or email us at info@museumoflocalhistory.org.