Your walk begins just past the Train Station at the Ohlone Indian Village Site sign on your left. » Map
Neither the Pattersons nor previous farmers were the first to inhabit the East Bay. Indeed, the original inhabitants – Ohlones – were not farmers as we think of them today. Instead, they tended to the native plants and animals around them, maintaining the natural bounty of this land through careful resource management.
Here, a small mound of earth reminds us of the people native to what became the Ardenwood estate. On this site, they built houses of tules and cattails, ate varied and nutritious meals of wild game and native plants, played games, and raised families. Proving their resilience, many of their families remain in the East Bay today, revitalizing their rich cultures after surviving missions and colonization.
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