Sprawled over 8200 leafy acres, Stanford University was established by Leland Stanford, one of the Central Pacific Railroad's 'Big Four' founders and a former governor of California. When the Stanfords' only child died of typhoid during a European tour in 1884, they decided to build a university in his memory. Stanford University opened in 1891, just two years before Leland Stanford's death, but the university grew to become a prestigious and wealthy institution.

The campus was built on the site of the Stanfords' horse-breeding farm, and as a result, Stanford is still known as 'The Farm.'