Simon Mezes was a lawyer from Spain and Puerto Rico who helped the Argüello family get legal title to Rancho de las Pulgas under U.S. law in the 1850s.

Mezes ended up with about a quarter of the ranch including what eventually became Redwood City.  Though he tried to call it Mezesville, no one paid attention and the post office was established under its current name.   Mezes Park is named after him though it's just his luck that no one calls it that either, and instead locals just refer to it as The Tank Park.