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Before Silicon Valley Was Silicon Valley: The 170-Year-Old Store Tour episode artwork

EPISODE · May 9, 2026 · 11 MIN

Before Silicon Valley Was Silicon Valley: The 170-Year-Old Store Tour

from Silicon Valley Front Row · host Steve Ispas and David Lam

Step aside, startups — Silicon Valley has a wilder origin story than you think! In this episode, Steve takes a fun detour from the world of tech to explore the historic Woodside Store, founded in 1854 — just minutes from modern Silicon Valley. This was one of the first stores between San Francisco and San Jose, and it was basically the Amazon of its day: Dr. Tripp advertised that he could sell you anything.We tried our hand at splitting wood shingles with a fro and mallet, cranked a 100-year-old washing machine, checked out antique penny banks, listened to live bluegrass music, and got the scoop on a blacksmith shop full of tools donated by the famous Lane family of Sunset Magazine.It's hands-on, it's historic, and it's honestly a blast. Come see how Bay Area folks lived 170 years ago!

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published May 9, 2026

What this episode covers

Step aside, startups — Silicon Valley has a wilder origin story than you think! In this episode, Steve takes a fun detour from the world of tech to explore the historic Woodside Store, founded in 1854 — just minutes from modern Silicon Valley. This was one of the first stores between San Francisco and San Jose, and it was basically the Amazon of its day: Dr. Tripp advertised that he could sell you anything.We tried our hand at splitting wood shingles with a fro and mallet, cranked a 100-year-old washing machine, checked out antique penny banks, listened to live bluegrass music, and got the scoop on a blacksmith shop full of tools donated by the famous Lane family of Sunset Magazine.It's hands-on, it's historic, and it's honestly a blast. Come see how Bay Area folks lived 170 years ago!

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This episode is 11 minutes long.

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This episode was published on May 9, 2026.

What is this episode about?

Step aside, startups — Silicon Valley has a wilder origin story than you think! In this episode, Steve takes a fun detour from the world of tech to explore the historic Woodside Store, founded in 1854 — just minutes from modern Silicon Valley. This...

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