John Balbach (February 13, 1820 - August 4, 1896) was a pioneering settler and prominent citizen of

San Jose, California San Jose, officially the City of San José ( ; ), is a cultural, commercial, and political center within Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area. With a city population of 997,368 and a metropolitan area population of 1.95 million, it is ...

. As a blacksmith, he made the first commercially available metal plow on the west coast, in 1852. He was a founder of the San Jose Volunteer Fire Department. The Downtown "Balbach Street", that adjuncts Woz Way named for Apple co-founder

Steve Wozniak Stephen Gary Wozniak (; born August 11, 1950), also known by his nickname Woz, is an American technology entrepreneur, electrical engineer, computer programmer, philanthropist, and inventor. In 1976, he co-founded Apple Inc., Apple Computer with ...

, is named in his honor. Balbach has two commemorative plaques in the city, one installed by the Germania Verein (Club) on its 150th anniversary in 2006; and one by the larger German-American community, on Market South Street where his blacksmith shop was once located.

Biography

Balbach was born in Mergentheim, Germany, on February 13, 1820, a few miles south of the village of Unterbalbach. He arrived in New York in 1848, part of the wave of immigrants caught up in the

California Gold Rush The California gold rush (1848–1855) began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought approximately 300,000 people to California from the rest of the U ...

. He went to Harrisburg, Owen County, Kentucky, where he obtained employment in a carriage factory. On March 28, 1849, he and nine others set out from Kentucky across the plains to California and the gold fields. They encountered many hardships on the trail and finally reached Los Angeles August 10, 1849. After recouping several months in Los Angeles, Balbach and two companions started northward following the coast. They reached San Jose in the early part of December, and went into camp for a few days. During the first night of their stay, Balbach's horse was stolen and he was compelled to abandon his trip and seek employment. After working a short time, he opened a blacksmith shop. In the spring of 1852 Balbach manufactured the first plow made on the Pacific Coast, and the following year he made over fifty plows. He established the Pioneer Carriage Manufactory, the first shop in San Jose where a carriage could be repaired or a new one built. It was on the corner of Second and Fountain Streets, and managed partly by three of his sons. Balbach, on November 15, 1854, married Wenna Benner (1826-1905), a native of Germany, with whom he had six sons and three daughters. His children included John Theodore Balbach (1860-1899), George L Balbach (1865-1929) and Louis Augusta Balbach (1868-1908). His grandson Louis James Balbach (1896-1943) was an American diver who competed in the

1920 Summer Olympics The 1920 Summer Olympics (; ; ), officially known as the Games of the VII Olympiad (; ; ) and commonly known as Antwerp 1920 (; Dutch language, Dutch and German language, German: ''Antwerpen 1920''), were an international multi-sport event held i ...

. Balbach served two years on the

San Jose City Council The San Jose City Council, officially San José City Council, is the legislature A legislature (, ) is a deliberative assembly with the legal authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country, nation or city on behalf of t ...

and five years as a member of the Board of School Trustees. He died on August 4, 1896, at home at 523 South Market street at 6 o'clock in the morning. He had been ill for several months with heart affection and asthma.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Balbach, John 1820 births 1896 deaths People from San Jose, California