The Village Walking Tour begins at the Historical Museum, proceeds up Oak Street to Madronia Cemetery; goes back down Sixth Street to Big Basin Way; from there back to the Village center and up Saratoga-Los Gatos Road to the museum. Those interested can cross the street to Park Place to view and hear about the Federated Church and Foothill Club.

At the outset, visitors are reminded that, while actual historical structures may be in fairly short supply, there are many sites that are of significance in Saratoga's history, which goes back to the middle of the 19th century.

Appropriately, the tour begins at the Historical Museum and the McWilliams House, located in the Historical Park. Both structures had been slated for destruction in the mid-1970s and, through community effort and fundraising, were moved from Big Basin Way to land fortunately owned by the city. Thus was born the Historical Park. The museum building, which dates back to about 1905, had a varied career as a drugstore, grocery and candy store, dry goods store and, in its later days, a dress shop.

The McWilliams House, one of the oldest residences in Saratoga, was built in the 1850s. The Museum and Historical Park were appropriately dedicated on July 4 in the nation's bicentennial year, 1976. Being privileged to give one of the dedicatory addresses, I concluded by saying, "I give you instant roots."

Next landmark on the tour is the former Village Library, now the Book-Go-Round, which opened in 1927. Proceeding up Oak Street, we pass the former Firemen's Hall, built by members of the volunteer fire department in 1949. Before Saratoga had a Civic Center, the hall was an early meeting place for the city council. Next on the historic list is the two-story Craftsman/shingle house at 14534, the former Lundblad's Lodge, built in 1905. For many years this was operated as an inn, along with rental cottages at the rear. After the inn operation ceased, the proprietor, Hazel Bargas, daughter of the Ludwig Lundblads, kept the public dining room open, and Sunday dinner was served at Lundblad's well into the 1950s. Lundblad's also was the home of actresses Olivia and Joan De Havilland (Fontaine) when they were young.

Then we come to Saratoga School, the original portion of which dates back to 1923. It is on the site of three previous Saratoga schools, beginning with the Sons of Temperance Hall of 1854, the town's first public building. The 1923 school was one of four built at approximately the same time in the same modified Mission style. The others were at Los Gatos, now Old Town; Campbell, now a business building; and Cupertino, now gone.

Some 35 years ago, Saratoga School was in peril because of required earthquake-resistant standards. Some people wanted to scrap it and put up a new building. Wiser heads prevailed and the building was beefed up rather than scraped. Later additions have followed the same basic architectural style. The original entrance has been preserved, and nearby is mounted the old bell that once summoned pupils to class.

That same basic location is also where the town's Congregational Church stood, near the school of the time, which dated back to 1898. Built in 1876, the church was one of five that Saratoga had toward the end of the 19th century. Considering the fact that the town had maybe a dozen saloons at the time, patronized largely by the loggers from up the hill, the proportion seems about right.

A few yards farther up the hill, at 14666 Oak St., is the house built about 1886 as the Congregational Church parsonage. It had that use for the present Federated Church until 1936. Next to it, at 14672 Oak St., is the house built in 1870 by William King, one of two brothers who founded the Saratoga Paper Mill. Considerably modernized, the house retains much of its original appearance.