Founders' Rock, National historic site in Berkeley, United States

Founders' Rock is a granite outcrop at the corner of Hearst Avenue and Gayley Road in Berkeley, California. A plaque placed on the spot on Charter Day in 1896 by the graduating class marks it. The rock stands at the site where, by college lore, the 12 trustees of the College of California stood on April 16, 1860, to dedicate the newly purchased property.

On April 16, 1860, twelve trustees of the College of California are said to have stood here to dedicate the land they had just bought, the future site of the University of California, Berkeley. A plaque was placed on the spot by the graduating class on Charter Day in 1896. The site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places and as a California Historical Landmark on March 25, 1982, and became a Berkeley Landmark on February 25, 1991.

Students frequently visit the rock during campus celebrations and use it as a gathering spot throughout the year. It has become woven into everyday university life as a physical link to the institution's past.

Founders' Rock sits at the corner of Hearst Avenue and Gayley Road, on the eastern edge of the UC Berkeley campus, where the two streets meet. It is a roadside spot reached on foot along the adjoining sidewalks rather than through the central campus.

The plaque on the rock was placed by the graduating class on Charter Day in 1896. The same site carries three designations: National Register of Historic Places and California Historical Landmark since March 25, 1982, and Berkeley Landmark since February 25, 1991.