State Rifle Range at Leona Heights

Updated with new map – May 11, 2019

From Google maps – go here to see more of the map

Every day while taking my kids to school, we would pass a street called Rifle Lane. I thought that was a weird name, and I wondered why (they named it that), as I do many times as I drive around Oakland.

Fast forward a few years later. I looked up the history of the area. I lived in the area until 2012. The area is now called the Eastmont Hills (kind of boring). It goes back to 1925 when the C.P Murdock Company sold it as Melrose Highlands. It was just up the hill from the new Chevrolet Assembly Plant (now Eastmont Town Center). An excellent place to live if you work at the plant.

Oakland Tribune July 17, 1925

In my research, I came across the following article from July 1925. The Upper San Leandro filter plant (7700 Greenly Drive) and the State Rifle Range are adjacent to Melrose Highlands. I thought, wow, there was a rifle range right about where Rifle Lane is now. Solved that one. Well, not really, but…close.

Oakland Tribune Jul 26, 1925

Maybe now, some of the smart people who read this blog can help me figure out where the range was located. Maybe someone remembers it.

From the Oakland Tribune Oct 29, 1929 – Major fire in the Oakland Hills – threatens the rifle range. Map of the fire below –

Rifle Range
Oakland Tribune Oct 29, 1929

A bit of history

The range has been called the following:

  • National Guard rifle Range
  • California National Guard rifle range
  • State Rifle Range at Leona Heights
  • Leona Heights Rifle Range
Target range
Oakland Tribune Apr 11, 1917

In 1917 the National Guard rifle range was transferred from Marin County to Leona Heights in Oakland. They had purchased “140 acres of land directly back of the quarry for the purpose”. The land was formally the property of the Realty Syndicate. The range opened in 1920. The location varies. Close to Mills College, 2 miles from Mills College, a top of Seminary Drive, and the back of the Leona Quarry.

SF Examiner Mar 13,1921

In July 1921, a major fire destroyed most of the range. For more on the fire – Oakland Tribune Jul 04, 1921

Oakland Tribune Jul 4, 1921

It may have also been the location of the stables of the 143rd Field Artillery Regiment. I know there were horse stables there.

Oakland Tribune Mar 10, 1927

The California Guardmans highlighted the rifle range in their Feb-March 1925 issue. You can see it here.

“A California National Guard range and local training area located in the Oakland Hills of Alameda County. It may have also been the location of the stables of the 143rd Field Artillery Regiment. The site was developed approximately 1919 and was actively used until at least 1941. The site supported elements of the 143rd Field Artillery, 159th Infantry, and 250th Coast Artillery Regiments. The April 1919 edition of The American Rifleman, stated that there were 60 firing points for rifles with targets placed between 200 and 600 yards. There was also a pistol range with 14 firing points. The range was described as one of the finest ranges west of Camp Perry, Ohio.”

Military Museum site.
Oakland Tribune Dec 10, 1923

More Info:

The End