ABOUT

Mount Hamilton is a mountain in California's Diablo Range, in Santa Clara County, California. Mount Hamilton, at 4,216 feet (1,285 m) is a mountain overlooking Santa Clara Valley and is the site of Lick Observatory, the first permanently occupied mountain-top observatory.

History

On August 26, 1861, while working for Josiah D. Whitney on the first California Geological Survey, William H. Brewer invited local San Jose preacher (and Brewer's personal friend) Laurentine Hamilton to join his company on a trek to a nearby summit. Nearing completion of their journey, Hamilton, in good humor, bounded for the summit ahead of the rest of the men and claimed his stake. In fact, Brewer suggested the mountain be named after Hamilton only after Whitney declined to have the mountain named after him (a different mountain was later named Mount Whitney).