John Balbach

John Balbach (February 13, 1820 – August 4, 1896) was a German-born American pioneering settler and prominent citizen of San Jose, California. As a blacksmith, he made the first commercially available metal plow on the West Coast, in 1852. Balbach was a founder of the San Jose Volunteer Fire Department, he served on the San Jose City Council, and was a member of the Board of School Trustees.

The Downtown "Balbach Street", that adjuncts Woz Way named for Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, is named in his honor. Balbach has two commemorative plaques in the city, one installed by the Germania Verein (Club) on its 150th anniversary in 2006; and one by the larger German-American community, on Market South Street where his blacksmith shop was once located.

Biography Balbach was born on February 13, 1820, in Mergentheim, Baden-Württemberg, Kingdom of Württemberg (now Germany), a few miles south of the village of Unterbalbach. They encountered many hardships on the trail and finally reached Los Angeles August 10, 1849. After recouping several months in Los Angeles, Balbach and two companions started northward following the coast.

Balbach served two years on the San Jose City Council and five years as a member of the Board of School Trustees.

He died on August 4, 1896, at home at 523 South Market Street in San Jose. He had been ill for several months with heart affection and asthma.