Prehistorically, Main Street existed as a path taken by Muwekma Ohlone Indians. The local tribe is known to have traded with tribes in the Sacramento area and with tribes from the Monterey Bay area. After the arrival of the Spanish, Main Street became Mission Road connecting Mission San Jose with the Pueblo de San José and the Santa Clara Mission. When Santa Clara County was formed the first official road in the county was declared Mission Road. Later the road was extended to Oakland and became known as the Oakland-San Jose Highway. After the opening of Highway 17 (now known as Interstate 880), the name of the old highway was changed to Main Street. The building of Abel Street took more traffic off Main Street and relegated it to become a sleepy back street for many years. That status changed with the 1994 opening of the Great Mall of the Bay Area on the site of the former Ford Motor Assembly Plant.