In 1956, five small, independent towns (Centerville, Niles, Irvington, Mission San José, and Warm Springs) located between the East Bay rolling hills and the San Francisco Bay were annexed into a single new, incorporated city called Fremont. Six decades later, these places have greatly expanded, are no longer separate communities, and are considered districts or community plan areas of the City of Fremont. The town of
Newark was originally slated to join the annex, but ultimately its voters declined since Newark representatives suspected that they would become an industrial district; Newark became its own incorporated city in 1955. Later, Newark annexed a patch of unincorporated land between Mowry Avenue and Stevenson Boulevard, land which is now occupied by
Newpark Mall and the surrounding plazas. Since incorporation, Fremont has created six more districts, which it calls "community plan areas" for planning purposes. These include Central, North Fremont, South Fremont, and Bayside. The two other districts, Baylands and the Hill Areas, are primarily open space. The area consisting of Fremont and the cities of
Newark and
Union City is known collectively as the Tri-City Area (different from the adjacent
Tri-Valley area encompassing
Pleasanton,
Dublin, and
Livermore).
Centerville District Centerville was formerly the main town in
Washington Township. Centerville is located at . It lies at an elevation of . Centerville was started by George Lloyd who started selling cold beer to stage passengers from a tent in 1850. Capt. George Bond set up a general store and the name Centerville was chosen. After President
Roosevelt issued
Executive Order 9066, which authorized military commanders to exclude "any or all persons" from certain areas in the name of national defense, the
Western Defense Command began ordering Japanese Americans living on the West Coast to present themselves for "evacuation" from the newly created military zones. This included many Centerville farming families. Centerville was also a main stop for the early railways. This gave the local farmers a way to quickly get their produce to market. With the access to railway service there was once a large cannery on Baine Ave. west of Fremont Ave. (now Peralta) next to the tracks. In 1959, the cannery was destroyed in the largest fire in Fremont's history. The fire lasted for two days, and effectively put an end to what had been the largest employer in Centerville at the time. The cannery was never rebuilt.
Housing developments began to appear in the area after World War II. Most of the early housing stood along Fremont Blvd from Decoto Road south to Washington High school, along Thornton Ave from Fremont Blvd west to the Newark city border, and along Peralta Blvd from Fremont Blvd to Niles. For city planning purposes, Centerville was enlarged to encompass most of the north central residential section of Fremont, from Mowry Ave to Decoto Rd, from
I-880 to the
BART line. This Centerville community plan area includes the sprawling subdivisions, developed in the 1950s and 1960s, of
Glenmoor Gardens, bounded by Central Avenue, Fremont Boulevard, Mowry Avenue, and the I-880 freeway. and the Cabrillo Park subdivision bound by Thornton Ave, Fremont Blvd, Decoto Road and the I-880 freeway. Also the Brookvale subdivisions, the
Quarry Lakes Regional Recreation Area, and part of Parkmont. The area is served by two high schools,
Washington High School established in 1892, which for a long time was the only high school in the area and
American High School established in 1972. It also has two middle schools, Centerville Middle School and Thornton Middle School, which now stands on the old main site of the Freitas ranch.
Niles District The former town of Niles is physically divided from other parts of Fremont and neighboring Union City by
Mission Boulevard (
State Route 238) to the east and north, Alameda Creek to the south,
Union Pacific Railroad to the west and southeast, and the Quarry Lakes to the southwest. The hills of Niles are lower than those of the area south of the Alameda Creek in Mission San Jose. Old Town Niles features its own library, post office, and silent movie theater as well as a large number of antique and craft stores. Niles is located at . It lies at an elevation of . The community, once called
Vallejo Mills, got its name from the
Central Pacific Railroad's Niles junction and station, opened in April 1870 as part of the
First transcontinental railroad and named after their railroad attorney and stockholder
Addison Niles, who became associate justice on the
California Supreme Court two years later. A post office was opened at Niles on Vallejo Street in 1873. Niles was the West Coast home (1912–1916) of one of the first motion picture companies,
Essanay Studios.
Charlie Chaplin and
Broncho Billy Anderson filmed some of their most famous silent movies in Niles and the scenic
Niles Canyon that stretches between Niles and
Sunol. The nonprofit
Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum offers both artifacts of Niles' early years and, each Saturday evening, screenings of early-twentieth-century silent films, many of which were filmed locally. The
Niles Canyon Railway runs along
Alameda Creek in
Niles Canyon and carries passengers on weekend excursions, including a holiday "train of lights", which is extremely popular – tickets for these trains typically sell out by early October. The Niles Canyon Railroad has a small but well-maintained collection of historic rail stock. Part of historic Niles is Mayhew Spring, also known as Mayhew's Sulphur Spring, which was owned by H.A. Meyhew and located north of the Niles railroad station. Central Pacific then built a junction in the valley and opened it in April 1870 as Niles. This corner, today the intersection of Fremont and Washington Boulevards, Union and Bay Streets, is now commonly known as "Five Corners" or Irvington Square. Irvington Square's marker, Irvington Plaza park, is located at . The inn and several of the other original buildings were demolished by the city of Fremont in the early 1980s. In 1871
Washington College, the first industrial educational institution in California was established in Washington township near the crossroads. As a result, the US Postal Service established a post office called Washington Corners at the college in 1870, which became the name of the settlement on the 1878
Alameda County map of Washington Township. In 1884, realizing the need for a proper town name, local inhabitants selected the name of Irving. The name was chosen in honor of Judge Irving, the local traveling circuit judge of the time. Later, when the railroad came through the area, the published train schedule pamphlets erroneously listed the Irving train depot as "Irvington." The town petitioned the railroad about the error. The railroad company notified the town that it was too costly for them to replace the train schedule pamphlets (over $100,000); and in 1887 following the recommendation, the people of Irving changed the town name to Irvington. The Irvington district has two main neighborhoods: Irvington Woods and the Irvington Square. The neighborhood is ethnically mixed and is primarily working class. For city planning purposes, the Irvington area was enlarged to encompass most of the south central residential section of Fremont, from
Auto Mall Parkway to Mowry Avenue, from I-880 to roughly the BART line (excluding the Central District described below). This Irvington community plan area includes the Sundale neighborhood, the South Sundale neighborhood, 28 Palms, Blacow, and Grimmer subdivisions. The area is served by three high schools:
Irvington High School,
Robertson High School, and
John F. Kennedy High School. The
Irvingtonian period of North American mammals is named for this district due to the fossil sequence excavated here.
Mission San Jose District At the time of the California Gold Rush, a boom town grew up around the old Mission, to equip and transport
49ers overland to the gold fields. A post office was opened at Mission San Jose in 1850. The district, like Niles, is surrounded by hills. The hills are higher and steeper than Niles, with the highest points being on the
Mission Ridge. Mission San Jose district lies close to the northern two peaks,
Mission Peak and
Mount Allison. The height of the peaks range from 2,517 to , and they see some snowfall occasionally. Mission Peak is a popular hiking spot and attracts residents from all over the East Bay. Fremont's community college,
Ohlone College, is situated one block away from the mission and serves over 12,000 students. Mission San Jose has the highest concentration of
Asian Americans in Fremont – over 50% of the population as of the
2000 census. The local high school is
Mission San Jose High School, ranked as the 93rd best high school in the nation by U.S. News & World Report, as well as 13th in California (as of 2024). The median family income for the Mission San Jose area (
ZIP code 94539) exceeded $114,595 in 2005. Owing to an influx of
professionals and other affluent families seeking access to the top-performing local public schools, Mission San Jose's median home value reached $831,000 in 2006, earning the community a rank of 237 on
Forbes magazine's list of the 500 most affluent communities in the United States.
Mission San Jose Nestled at the base of Fremont's rolling hills is the
Mission San José, one of the oldest of the
Spanish missions in California, for which this district is named. The church building that exists today is a reconstruction (dedicated in 1985 for daily Mass and tours) of the original 1809 adobe church that was destroyed by the 1868 Hayward-fault earthquake. One side of the original mission quadrangle remains, housing a museum. Mission San Jose is located at ; and lies at an elevation of .
Warm Springs District , owner of
Rancho Agua Caliente, from which the Warm Springs district takes its name The former town of Warm Springs is located on
Rancho Agua Caliente and is so named for the springs that are located there. In early times, there was a settlement called Harrisburgh (also, Harrisburg and Peacock's) a short distance east from the small settlement of Warm Springs. This controversy led to the eventual closing of the business. Later, a new bikini coffee stand opened in Warm Springs called Pink Pantherz, which continues to operate as of 2025. The
BART extension to Warm Springs began construction in 2009 and
Warm Springs/South Fremont station opened for service on March 25, 2017.
Central district The central district is surrounded by the Centerville, Niles, Mission San Jose, and Irvington communities. The central district contains retail shopping centers (e.g., the
Fremont Hub), the Fremont
Bay Area Rapid Transit station, health care centers and
Central Park (Lake Elizabeth). City planners envisioned and have begun to develop a mid-density, pedestrian friendly, transit oriented development, bounded by Mowry Ave, Fremont Blvd, Walnut Ave, and Paseo Padre Pkwy referred to as Downtown Fremont. To support enhanced access, one of the central streets, the Capital Avenue extension to Fremont Blvd, was completed in 2016, as the city pursues its plans for a Downtown Fremont. Most of Fremont is part of the
Laguna Creek Watershed.
North Fremont District , on the
National Register of Historic Places North Fremont is a primarily residential district surrounded by
Union City,
Centerville District,
Newark, and
Coyote Hills Regional Park. It is a growing community that includes the Ardenwood neighborhood, the Lakes and Birds neighborhood, and the Northgate neighborhood. It is the site of the
Ardenwood Historic Farm, which has the George Washington Patterson House as one of its highlights, and the Ardenwood Technology Park. A
99 Ranch Market is one of many Asian businesses in the North Fremont District. Thornton Middle School and
American High School, which are both physically located in the enlarged
Centerville District, also serve as the middle and high school, respectively, for this community.
South Fremont District South Fremont is a primarily industrial district, east of Interstate 880 and west of Interstate 680, south of Auto Mall Parkway and north of Brown Rd. The area overlaps with Warm Springs, with which it shares the eponymous BART station. The composition of the area will change, because thousands of residential units were under construction as of 2016. It is sandwiched between the Irvington and Warm Springs community plan areas.
Bayside Industrial District Bayside Industrial is a primarily industrial and commercial district, west of Interstate 880 between Newark and Milpitas. The lowest temperature recorded was on December 23, 1990. ==Demographics==