Slavery ties get famous San Jose family name stripped from building

SAN JOSE, Calif. — For decades, the Bascom family name has adorned one of San Jose’s busiest thoroughfares, a bustling light rail station and prominent buildings around the city.

But now the California pioneers whose lineage in the area dates back to the Gold Rush era are the latest historical figures to come under scrutiny over their ties to the slave trade.

Spurred by county health workers who questioned the family’s past, Santa Clara County has decided to remove the name from Valley Health Center Bascom — an outpatient clinic established in 1985 — replacing it with “San Jose.”