The little city that was leaving to ascend close to the zone took the name Palo Alto (tall tree) once a massive sequoia on the bank of San Francisquito Stream. The tree itself stays there and would later transform into the school's photo and centerpiece of its power seal. 

 Leland Stanford, UN association grew up and focused on law in ny, impacted West once the gold rush and, like a couple of his rich partners, made his fortune inside the railways. He was a pacesetter of the political party, administrative pioneer of California and later a U.S. congressperson. He and Jane had one youngster, UN association went on of enteric fever in 1884 once the family was going in Italia. Leland Jr. was basically fifteen. at intervals weeks of his passing, the Stanfords set that, as a result of they now not may do something for his or her own particular kid, "the offspring of California may be our kids." They quickly set near to notice a tough because of memorialize their esteemed kid. 

 The Stanfords considered various prospects – a school, a school, a presentation lobby. while on the East Drift, they passed by Harvard, MIT, Cornell and Johns Hopkins to pursue recommendation on beginning a substitution school in California. (See note relating to records of the Stanfords visit with Harvard President Charles W. Eliot.) At last, they set to discover 2 establishments in Leland Junior's name - the College and a store. From the get-go they settled on some nontraditional choices: the school would be composed, in an extraordinarily time once most were all-male; non-denominational, once most were related to a non standard affiliation; and avowedly sensible, gathering "refined and obliging voters.