Fremont, California, is named for John Charles Frémont, an army officer and explorer who had a great interest in the area. The city is located in the area of one of the largest gold discoveries in the world. The California city was once a quiet agricultural community that was very self-sustaining. The discovery of gold turned this quiet city into a booming area for gold miners. In 1848, miners in the Sierra Nevada Mountains started a general dig that would change the future of the entire area. Soon into their dig, they discovered gold, surprising the miners and setting them into pure excitement. That discovery rapidly changed the whole area of Fremont from having a large agricultural interest into a "one stop shop" for miners arriving there. Gold continued to be found in the Sierra Nevada Mountains for many years, but it did not last as long as many of the residents had hoped. As it turned out, over the years less gold was being found and the hype about the discovery was becoming a thing of the past. For a short time, the area became a resort for visitors to Fremont. Even though it was a great place to visit, Fremont once again turned into an agricultural community that provided foods for all the surrounding areas. Through the years, Fremont has been able to pull out of solely an agriculture community due to the revolution of the computer industry. Fremont became one of the cities that was home to many high-technology companies. The area was perfect for their needs, as they were in a sloth from the gold rush and the properties they needed were selling at a low cost. The increase in the type of industry in this region turned the area and surrounding areas into a technological boom. This increase in high-technology industry earned Fremont and surrounding cities the name of Silicon Valley. Some of the major industries in the area include the manufacture of computers and computer equipment, along with the production of automobiles. Fremont is home to the only automobile manufacturing plant on the West Coast. Along with large industries, Fremont is home to many fine educational institutes including a community college and an extension of the Berkeley campus of the University of California. There are many attractions in Fremont such as parks, festivals, and wildlife refuges. Some these amazing attractions include the Ardenwood Farm Historical Park, the San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge and the Mission San José de Guadalupe, which is a replica of the mission founded by Franciscans in 1797. The Fremont Festival of the Arts is an annual event.