Agricultural Exhibit - Yesterday's Farmer: Planting an American Dream

By 1900, Japanese immigrant families began to establish permanent homes, primarily in Morgan Hill, Gilroy, Watsonville, Salinas, Monterey, Mountain View, Sunnyvale, Milpitas, and San Jose. Many of the Issei (first generation) adapted intensive farming techniques, where high yields were achieved by creating the best conditions possible in a limited space. Their considerable success led to hostility, which contributed to the passage of the Alien Land Act in 1913 (preventing ownership of land by aliens ineligible for citizenship).


Fordson F tractor. Photo courtesy of Will Kaku

All of the vehicles and most of the farming equipment in the exhibit was donated by JAMsj cofounder, Eiichi Sakauye. The Sakauye family primarily farmed off the Trimble Road area in San Jose (in what was then a part of Alviso). The family still owns a small plot of farmland off of Montague Expressway and Trimble Road, nestled between several high technology companies.


JAMsj cofounder, Eiichi Sakauye


Left: Eiichi Sakauye transports a tractor to the exhibit at JAMsj. Right: Eiichi plows the field around the Heart Mountain camp.


International Harvester Kerosene Tractor c. 1915.