Gilroy, California
Gilroy is a city in Northern California's Santa Clara County, south of Morgan Hill and north of San Benito County. The city's population was 48,821 at the 2010 United States Census. Gilroy's origins lie in the village of San Ysidro that grew in the early 19th century out of Rancho San Ysidro, granted to Californio ranchero Ygnacio Ortega in 1809. Following Ygnacio's death in 1833, his daughter Clara Ortega de Gilroy and son-in-law John Gilroy inherited... Show more the largest portion of the rancho and began developing the settlement. When the town was incorporated in 1868, it was renamed in honor of John Gilroy, a Scotsman who had emigrated to California in 1819, naturalized as a Mexican citizen, adopted the Spanish language, and converted to Catholicism, taking the name of Juan Bautista Gilroy.Gilroy is known for its garlic crop and the annual Gilroy Garlic Festival, featuring various garlicky foods...