I wish I had more to share about Thornhill Park. I only learned about it by accident when looking into Judge EM Gibson’s home, who lived on a ranch where Thornhill School is now and over to Aspinwall Drive. He lived there in the late 1880s.
Thornhill Park went on sale in May 1917. The Reality Syndicate handled the sales at first.
Thornhill Park was an area of small farms of 1/4 acre to 1 acre where you could grow your food or raise chickens, as noted in the ad below.
The home of F.M. Boggs was the home of Judge EM Gibson (more about him later), and after the home of Dr. Mark Emerson, Alameda County Coroner, and now St. Johns Church, is in that location. Approximate location 1707 Gouldin Road
April 1922
By 1922 they were having a “Liquidation Sale” and trying to “close out” the rest of the tract by selling 1/2 acre lots for 66 cents on the $1.00.
It seems Thornhill Park wasn’t a big seller. I noticed it wasn’t advertised as much as any other tracts in Montclair, like Forest Park, Merriewood, or Fernwood, were.
Later, Phil Hearty, a developer and agent who had an office at 5815 Thornhill for years, took over the sale of the remaining Thornhill Park lot. Now Thornhill Park is part of Forest Park and Montclair Highlands.
Some of the homes in Thornhill Park –
A September 1919 advertisement for “6-Room Bungalow on One Acre in Beautiful Thornhill Park” located at 650 Thorn Road is now 6116 Thornhill Drive. The Langdon family lived there from about 1923- 1945.
6138 Thornhill Drive is another of the original homes in Thornhill Park. Back in the 1920s, the address was 670 Thorn Road. The Bullard family lived there until the 1990s.
6022 Thornhill Drive, Col. George, and Edith Mullen also moved there in about 1917 when the address was 570 Thorn Road. The Mullen’s played a significant role in the Montclair Women’s Club and Montclair Presbyterian Church.
For now, this is all I have.
This is such wonderful reserach, Dorothy! Do you know who owned the dairy farm where Montclair Park is now> The Medau family? (Pronounced “meadow”?) Was the pond always there? Deeper? Fed by a tributary of Temescal Creek?
Yes, I read some where it froze over and his children ice skated on it. I t was located right next to their home. My first blog was on them. https://abitofhistory.website/2017/10/20/medau-family/
I have read the pond was made from run off from the hills. It probably was much deeper. It was called “Green Lake” at some point.
Thanks for all your effort. I grew up in Montclair and love learning about and seeing early Montclair and the surrounding areas. I love history and still own the homes of my grandmother and my parents in Thornhill park. Unfortunately, I have been unable to find many photos of that area,
Thornhill
Montera
Skyline ’73