Palm Drive

The Arboretum began with the indigenous live oaks on the Stanfords’ estate, and was augmented by a variety of other collected trees. In 1885 Stanford contracted with noted landscape designer Frederick Law Olmsted to plan the grounds. As Jane Stanford said in her 1903 address to the Stanford trustees:
"No buildings of any kind whatever should ever be erected within the grounds of the original Arboretum. It should always be retained in its present condition as a Park for drives and walks so long as the University exists."

Today the Arboretum provides a beautiful natural boundary at the main entrance to the campus, insulating it from the nearby bustle of transportation of commerce. The west side of the Arboretum serves as a popular spot for walks and contemplation, including the newly-created “Stanford Soundwalk” as part of the Stanford COVID-19 Remembrance Project. The east side of Palm Drive becomes more active as you approach Stanford Stadium, and is commonly populated by runners, bicyclists, and Stanford fans enjoying tailgate events during football season!

The stately Stanford Family Mausoleum, completed in 1888, holds the remains of the university's namesake Leland Stanford, Jr. as well as those of his parents Leland and Jane Stanford. The Stanfords’ original intent had been to build a family mansion at this site on the Palo Stock Farm. The nearby cactus garden was planted early (“to be visible from the second story windows”) and plans were continuing for the development of the surrounding Stanford Arboretum when in 1884, Leland Stanford, Jr. died of typhoid fever shortly before his 16th birthday.

The plans for the mansion ceased immediately and the grieving Stanford parents soon turned their focus to establishing a new university in their son’s memory. While the Cactus Garden and Arboretum remained, the central site became the eventual resting place for the entire family. Upon the death of Leland Stanford, Sr. in 1893, the coffin of Leland Stanford, Jr. was moved to the Mausoleum from an elaborate structure located on the property near the existing family home. In 1905, Jane Stanford was laid to rest here next to her son and husband. Once per year, the mausoleum is opened to the public and a wreath laid as part of the annual Founders' Day activities.

One of the student body’s most peculiar and beloved traditions is Halloween at the Mausoleum. Each year Stanford undergraduates make the trek from their dorms to the Mausoleum to dance and revel alongside their peers in spirited honor of the university's founders.

The Arizona Garden (usually referred to as the “Cactus Garden”) was designed for Jane and Leland Stanford by landscape architect Rudolf Ulrich between 1881 and 1883, as part of the grounds for a newly planned residence. Though the Stanfords’ primary home was an opulent showplace on San Francisco’s Nob Hill, their preferred “getaway” was their expansive property on the peninsula known as the Palo Alto Stock Farm. They started by laying out a botanical garden, incorporating cactus and succulents delivered via Leland Stanford’s railroad from the Southwest. The historical garden was restored in the 1990s by volunteers and continues to be renovated and preserved. There are many unusual plants within the garden. Selections from the Cacti family include columnar, barrel and monstrose forms. Selections of succulents include Aloes, Crassulas and rosette-forming Agaves.

As a friendly reminder, please note that state and local guidelines dictate the terms for public use of campus spaces and resources for colleges and universities during the COVID-19 pandemic. Please visit Stanford’s regularly updated website for the latest information. Many indoor spaces may have limited or restricted access.

Stanford University’s campus is located within the traditional territory of the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe, on land Leland Stanford purchased in the 1870s and 1880s. The university has been engaged with Ohlone sites and communities since its founding in the mid-1880s. During the 1960s, Native American students advocated for and worked with the administration to increase opportunities for Indigenous peoples at Stanford. Archaeological research took place throughout the 20th century but without the important component of Ohlone stakeholder collaboration until the 1980s, when Stanford and the Ohlone community built mutual trust around issues of repatriation and consultation. Since then, the university and Native peoples have deepened their relationship and continue to partner in Native American Cultural Center programming, Native American Studies learning opportunities, Stanford American Indian Organization events, community-led archaeology, historic interpretation, and a developing Native plant garden.

Today, the university has a vibrant community of Native students, faculty, staff, and alumni. More than 400 students on campus represent over 50 tribes, and “Muwekma-Tah-Ruk ~ The House of the People” is a residence that celebrates the diversity of Indigenous peoples throughout the Americas and Pacific Islands.

Stanford University’s full name is Leland Stanford Junior University, It is named in memory of the only child of Leland and Jane Stanford, Leland Stanford, Jr., who died of typhoid fever in 1884 at age 15. Stanford University was officially founded the year following young Leland’s death and opened its doors to its first students on October 1, 1891.

The Stanfords were a prominent family in the late 19th century, with Leland Stanford having served as both governor of California during the first two years of the Civil War, and later as a United States senator. He is perhaps best known as one of the “Big Four” of California, heading up the Central Pacific Railroad and the drive to complete the first transcontinental railroad.

Leland Stanford, Jr. was a bright and inquisitive boy who loved to learn. He developed a passion at a young age for collecting art and archeological artifacts, and hoped to one day create his own art museum. Immediately following their son’s death, the Stanfords determined that they would use their wealth to do something to honor their beloved son ’s passions for education and the arts, and to benefit other children. After considering multiple options, they chose to build a university and a museum on the 8000+ acres of land that comprised their Palo Alto Stock Farm. To this day, Stanford University is still referred to as “The Farm.”

In founding the university, the Stanford family created a university with many priorities that differed from other universities of the time. The Founding Grant states that the university’s objective is “to qualify its students for personal success, and direct usefulness in life” and its purpose “to promote the public welfare by exercising an influence in behalf of humanity and civilization.”

The Founding Grant also laid out five key founding tenets, four of which have survived to today. Stanford University from the outset was created as a coeducational university, offering education to both men and women, as well as a nonsectarian institution without association to any particular religion. The grant also decreed that the university be open to students of all different backgrounds. This was helped along by the fourth tenet, which decreed that Stanford University would be tuition-free. Unfortunately for students, this tenet is no longer true today, as the first tuition was instituted in 1920 ($40 per quarter!). The final tenet declares that none of the land that the Stanfords conveyed to the university could ever be sold. Thus, the sprawling campus lands still total over 8000 acres. The easily navigable central campus area, however, is contained within a much more reasonably sized area known as the Campus Drive loop.

Stanford’s fleet of free buses and shuttles is called the Marguerite, named for a favorite horse that pulled the carriages of new students from the Palo Alto train station to Stanford. Initially designed to make coming to Stanford by train more convenient, the Marguerite remains most popular among staff and faculty. Students, however, also occasionally use the system to get from one side of campus to the other.

All routes on the Marguerite system are free and open to the public; no ID is required. The main shuttle lines traverse the campus and immediate surrounding area (including regular routes to and from the Palo Alto Caltrain station) Monday through Friday all year (except university holidays). Full information and a live interactive schedule is available via the free Stanford Mobile app, or at: https://transportation.stanford.edu/marguerite

Caltrain is the name of the area’s local rail service and is a great option for students seeking to get outside of the Stanford bubble and explore the greater Bay Area! It runs from San Francisco (30 miles to the north) down the SF Peninsula, past Stanford (Palo Alto - University Avenue station), continuing on to San Jose (25 miles to the south), and reaches the end of the line in Gilroy (45 miles south of Stanford). CalTrain also provides a connection at the Millbrae transfer station to BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit, which branches out to most parts of the Bay Area, and connects to San Francisco Int’l Airport), and is easily accessible on weekdays from Stanford’s own free shuttle, the Marguerite.

In the first couple weeks on campus each fall, Stanford freshmen board the Caltrain and head north to San Francisco for a traditional Scavenger Hunt with their freshman dorm. They then compete on teams in order to complete as many tasks as possible in “the City” before the day is done.

Each spring, students of all grades don costumes and their wackiest clothing items (referred to at Stanford as “rally gear”) and board Caltrain for the annual “Bay 2 Breakers.” This century-old April event has become a tradition for Stanford students -- a 7.5-mile footrace across San Francisco that attracts over 100,000 participants and is referred to as “a celebration of life, laughter, and the personality of San Francisco.”