Located between Los Gatos, Saratoga and San Jose, Campbell is located approximately 51 miles south of San Francisco close to the heart of Silicon Valley, and approximately 26 miles from the beach town of Santa Cruz.
With easy access to Highways 17 and 85, Campbell was founded in 1846 by Benjamin Campbell and like much of Silicon Valley, was originally farmland. Its sought-after Downtown area was originally a hay and grain farm and its first subdivision wasn’t recorded until more than 40 years later in 1887. With the sale of some of his land to the railroad company for $5 an acre in 1888, Campbell’s future was secured when it became an important distribution center for the local canneries.
In 1952 Campbell was officially incorporated as a city and orchards started to be converted into residential neighborhoods. Today, Campbell offers a variety of housing from condominiums and townhomes to single family homes (many of which have expansive lots) and apartment complexes, most of which were built in the 1950s - 1970s. Downtown Campbell offers some unique, older homes built in the 1920s and 1930s which, with their walking-distance proximity to parks, local restaurants, bars and shopping are in high demand.