Sunnyvale Heritage Park Museum

On a quiet street next to the Sunnyvale Community Center, rows of apricot trees run back from the sidewalk the way they once did across the whole valley. Beside the orchard stands a two-story house that looks old but was finished in 2008. It is a replica of the home of Martin Murphy Jr., the pioneer whose ranch became Sunnyvale. Today it holds the city's free history museum.

The museum is about 20 minutes from Palo Alto and makes a good short outing for anyone curious about life before Silicon Valley. Hours and events below come from the Sunnyvale Historical Society and Museum Association's visit page and events pages, checked on November 2, 2026. For the city around it, see our Sunnyvale guide.

The Murphys and the house that was lost

Martin Murphy Jr. left County Wexford, Ireland, as part of a family that tried farming in Canada and Missouri before heading west. In 1844 the Murphys joined a wagon train led by Elisha Stephens, the man Stevens Creek is named for. Eleven wagons and about fifty people crossed the Sierra Nevada, two years before the Donner Party. They reached Sutter's Fort in March 1845 without losing anyone; two babies were born on the way. The museum credits the party with being the first to bring wagons over the Sierra successfully.

In 1849 Murphy bought land from Mariano Castro that covers much of today's Sunnyvale. He raised wheat and cattle, then diversified into vines and fruit trees. When the railroad from San Francisco to San José came through in the 1860s, he let it cross his land and gained a stop. He and his wife, Mary, helped found Santa Clara College for boys and Notre Dame College for girls, today Santa Clara University and Notre Dame de Namur. For their golden wedding anniversary they invited the whole county to a barbecue at their house, Bay View.

That house had an unusual story. It was built in Maine, shipped around Cape Horn and reassembled on the ranch, held together with leather straps and wooden pegs because nails were scarce. After the Murphys died, heirs sold the land in parcels. The town around the station was named Sunnyvale in 1901 and incorporated in 1912. The last family member living at Bay View sold it to the city in the early 1950s so it could be saved.

It was not saved. The Sunnyvale Historical Society formed in 1956 to rescue it and won its designation as California Historical Landmark No. 644 in 1960. The house was demolished anyway in 1961, for the construction of Central Expressway. A small museum in Murphy Park kept the artifacts. The society incorporated as the Sunnyvale Historical Society and Museum Association in 1979. Funding for a replica came together in 2002 and the present museum opened in 2008.

Hours and admission for 2026

The museum says it is wheelchair accessible. There is no food for sale and no food or drink inside, but an outdoor picnic area is available. Check the museum calendar for holiday closures and private events.

What to see

Downstairs

• The Murphy rooms. A parlor and dining room, a kitchen and a bedroom set up as they might have looked around 1860, filled with Murphy family artifacts.
• Town and industry. Displays on the businesses that built Sunnyvale, with cannery tools, Hendy Iron Works items and a section on the Naval Air Station that became Moffett Field.
• The mural. A large painted history of the Santa Clara Valley from the Ohlone to the 1950s and the arrival of technology.

Upstairs

• Rotating exhibits. Changing every two or three months. Past subjects include canneries, Sunnyvale schools and communication from the telegraph to the internet.
• The Tech Wall. A timeline of Silicon Valley and Sunnyvale technology. A volunteer team was updating it in 2026.

Outside

• The Heritage Orchard. In 1994 the city kept ten acres of Blenheim apricot trees to honor the orchards that built the local economy. The historical society named it Heritage Orchard Park in 1997. The museum counts about 80 trees an acre, roughly 800 in all, with young trees replacing old ones over time.
• The Orchard Heritage Park Interpretive Exhibit. An open, barn-like structure built in 2001 with displays on orchard workers and on growing and canning fruit, bordered by early cultivators and ranch equipment.
• The Bianchi Barn. A redwood barn of about 1,800 square feet built around 1918 by the Bianchi brothers in San José. Clara Bianchi donated it in 2002 and it was taken apart and rebuilt here. It still serves the orchard, so its interior is closed.

Docents give free guided tours during open hours. Our orchards and agriculture page tells the wider story of the Valley of Heart's Delight.

Getting there from Palo Alto

Driving takes about 20 minutes outside rush hour, via Central Expressway or Highway 101 and Mathilda Avenue. Follow the signs to the museum from the driveway off Manet Drive. By train, Caltrain to Sunnyvale stays within Palo Alto's fare zone. The museum is roughly a mile and a half south of the station, so pair the ride with a short rideshare or a walk past downtown.

Tips for visiting with kids

• Come for the dolls. The holiday exhibition, Two Centuries of Dolls, shows dolls from the 1800s to today, from German china heads to Barbies and Cabbage Patch dolls, with antique doll furniture and clothes. The museum says it runs through the holidays until early January.
• Time the orchard. The trees bloom white in late winter and fruit ripens in early summer. Stay on the sidewalk loop; the orchard is a working farm.
• Ask for a docent tour. The guided walk through the Murphy rooms brings the wagon train story to life.
• Picnic outside. Food is not allowed inside, so use the outdoor picnic area.

Food nearby

The museum sells no food. Downtown Sunnyvale's Murphy Avenue is the closest restaurant row, a few minutes north by car. Philz Coffee at 125 S. Frances Street, near the station, was listed on its own site in early November 2026. Dishdash, a Middle Eastern restaurant on Murphy Avenue, also lists its Sunnyvale location. Our Sunnyvale food guide covers more of the block.

Events

• Two Centuries of Dolls: holiday exhibit, open through the holidays until early January.
• 2026 Winter Teas: December 5, 6, 12 and 13, 2 to 4 p.m., $55 per person, with tea sandwiches, sweets and scones. December 13 was sold out by early November. Reserve in person during open hours, by phone at 408-749-0220 or online through the museum's Donorbox links. The museum also holds a spring tea on one weekend each year.
• Speaker Nights: talks in the upstairs meeting room. The October 2026 talk covered the rebuilding of Hangar One at Moffett Field.
• 70th anniversary: the historical society marked 70 years with a reception on July 19, 2026.

For more aviation history, the Moffett Field Historical Society Museum is a short drive north. The Los Altos History Museum has its own apricot orchard and farmhouse closer to Palo Alto.

Frequently asked questions