Fremont’s history and culture can be traced back to the establishment of Mission San Jose, the first European outpost in what is now Alameda County and the fourteenth mission of twenty-one historic Franciscan Missions in California. Built in 1797, the Mission was located strategically on the routes that connected Los Angeles with San Francisco and the Mission Pass to the gold fields and founded by Father Fermin Francisco de Lasuen. Nestled at the base of the Fremont foothills, the mission thrived due to fertile land, abundant water and an excellent location, and served as one of the first points of contact between early European settlers and the indigenous Ohlone Indians.

When Mexico won independence from Spain, it gave huge land grants known as ranchos to soldiers and prominent citizens. This was known as the Rancho Era, and lasted from 1836 to 1848. Many of the Ohlone Indians left the mission to work on the ranchos, but more returned to their old way of life.

American settlers began to arrive in 1846 with the arrival of the ship the Brooklyn, which came to the San Francisco Bay Area carrying a large group of Mormons pioneers. Many stayed in the area, and these pioneers and others began to farm the land, build roads, buildings, and schools. Eight towns sprang up around the mission just prior to California’s admission to statehood in 1850: Alvarado, Centerville, DeCoto, Irvington, Mission San Jose, Newark, Niles, and Warm Springs. By 1853, these eight communities were known as Washington Township.

Each of the eight towns in Washington Township had their own stores, schools, post office, organizations and personality. In 1892, Union High School No. 2 in Centerville was an important hub for the Township community. The location was central to all of the towns, making it a favorite venue for larger events and Township meetings, and students from all eight towns attended.

Niles made history in 1869 when the last of the tracks connecting the transcontinental railroad from the Atlantic to the Pacific were laid. Niles again achieved brief fame during World War I when Essanay Film Manufacturing Company selected it as the location to film their motion pictures with the great silent film stars Bronco Billy Anderson, Wallace Beery and Ben Turpin. As famous as these stars were, none compared in popularity to Charlie Chaplin, who filmed his renowned "The Tramp" at Essanay Studios.

The region continued to beckon industry and business throughout the first half of the 20th century. In the early 1950s, facing the specter of unplanned and uncontrolled growth, local citizens moved to protect the rustic charm and atmosphere in which they lived. In 1956, five of the original eight Washington Township communities, Centerville, Irvington, Niles, Mission San Jose and Warm Springs, voted to incorporate as a general law city, having a council/city manager form of government, with four elected council members and one elected mayor. The city was named in honor of Colonel John C. Fremont, the soldier and explorer who had so loved Mission San Jose he tried to purchase it in the 1840’s.