Subdivision of Montclair – approx. the area above Thornhill at Woodhaven and Oakwood Drive and up to Snake and Colton Blvd. The Forest Park Pool (now Montclair Swim Club) was included with the tract. – Updated May 06, 2019
“Wickham Havens, Inc., to Sell Fine Scenic Property on the Highlands Northeast of Beautiful Piedmont” – Oakland Tribune May 11, 1924
A residential park that has been “twenty years in the making” is how they described Forest Park when it first opened in May 1924. The hills of Forest Park were barren of trees when the late Frank C. Havens undertook the task in the early 1900s of planting them with trees. His son Wickham is in charge of selling Forest Park.
Free Bus service to Forest Park
Big wooded lots some with a view of the bay were selling at a few hundred dollars each. “Investment in Forest Park today means rich profits in the future” – Come out and see the $10,000 pool being built for the residents – Oakland Tribune June 1924.
Elmer F. Morrill lived down the road where
Harbord Drive and Moraga Avenue meet since the late 1880s
Forest Pool was located at Thornhill Drive and Woodhaven Way is now the Montclair Swim Club.
Photo By Cheney Advertising
https://oac.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/kt209nd06r?&brand=oac4
Photo By Cheney Advertising
https://oac.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/kt209nd06r?&brand=oac4
Cheney Photo Advertising 1925
https://oac.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/kt209nd06r?&brand=oac4
Photo by Cheney Advertising 1927
https://oac.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/kt209nd06r?&brand=oac4
Present Day – Google Maps
Cheney Photo Advertising 1925
https://oac.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/kt209nd06r?&brand=oac4
Cheney Photo Advertising 1927
https://oac.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/kt209nd06r?&brand=oac4
Cheney Photo Advertising c 1927
https://oac.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/kt209nd06r?&brand=oac4
Cheney Photo Advertising c 1927
https://oac.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/kt209nd06r?&brand=oac4
To be continued …Forest Park – the Shepard Canyon Section
I spent so much time at Forest Pool growing up in Montclair . I loved going to the pool. I would walk there from 6807 Ridgewood Dr.
1952 to 1965
Paul Nobmann
We were members of the pool circa 1972-1982
Thank you so much for compiling all this. Just wonderful.
Charles
Overlake Ct
You are welcome.
Thank you for putting this together! What a treasure!
Thank you!
Thank you.
I enjoy your blog, Dorothy. The parts about our area are especially interesting to me, of course. We knew Mr and Mrs Dunkle when we first moved here. They told us the castle was built by Tom Mix, the old time movie cowboy. They said he was planning a tract, but nobody wanted to move up to the hills at that time, too inconvenient. We got to go in one Halloween when we were supervising trick or treat. They were very nice people.
Thank you. I don’t know about the Castle being built by “Tom Mix”. But I do know it was one of the earlier homes up there. As a young kid of 10 or 11, I remember my friends Mom ( they live on Oakwood Dr) pointing and telling us about Mr. Dunkel and his castle as we drove by. I didn’t pay much attention. I wish I did. Little did I know I would be writing about it years later.
Wow, this is a precious piece of treasured history! My 2 brothers & I grew up in the beautiful village of Montclair. We were truly blessed to live there. We were members of Montclair Swim Club. Our parents bought our house in 1957.
Thank you so much for a your findings.
Warmly,
Michelle Mayfield(McGinn)
Did you live on The Turn? Yes, Montclair was a and is a special place to grow up. Thank you for your kind words.
Dorothy
We lived on The Turn for 52 years and always considered it part of Forest Park but some realty companies call it Forestland. Which is it?
Hi, first things first I went to school with Erik. That is a good question. Ok, Forest Park is the area from Thornhill at Woodhaven up to Skyline. The area that you lived in was called Pinehaven. I’m not exactly sure when they started calling the combined areas Forestland. Back in the 40s and 50s, they broke the neighborhoods down by their names like Merriewood, Fernwood, Forest Park, and Pinehaven. Each of them had their own association or group. Now it all pretty much called Montclair. I rather like the old neighborhood names. I wrote about Pinehaven herehttps://abitofhistory.website/2019/04/13/how-to-build-a-log-cabin/
Does anyone know the history of the equestrian path that still exists between Woodhaven Way and Thornhill Drive below “Forest Pool?” It is a favorite woodland path for many people to stroll along. It shows up on property plot maps. We would love to know the story behind it’s creation and historical use.