This Rancho period lasted about thirty years. Rancho San Mateo, which comprised what is today south Burlingame, all of Hillsborough, and north San Mateo, was sold to the American mercantile firm of Mellus and Howard for $4 per acre. In 1850 ($167 in today’s economy), Howard built the first of the great homes of the area on the property. He named it El Cerrito.
Nicolas de Peyster came to San Mateo in 1849 and created the first business enterprise in San Mateo when he opened a stagecoach stop in the now abandoned mission outpost. By virtue of this business, he established what would be the main road through San Mateo.
In May 1861, under the direction of Charles B. Polhemus, the construction of a railroad to link San Francisco with San Jose began. The track was completed in January 1864 and the first service through San Mateo took place on October 17, 1863. The train made the trip from San Francisco to San Mateo in thirty-seven minutes.
With Polhemus as director of railroad construction, the decision on where the central business district would be located lay in his hands. The first building to be erected near the tracks was the train station. However, it wasn’t long before buildings began springing up in the area of Main Street and Railroad Avenue. This was the beginning of downtown San Mateo.
Continued next week…
Everything else is just history
