Lynde Street – Geo L. Lynde

Posted on May 22, 2019 by Dorothy Londagin

I’ve always been curious about the meaning behind a street name. Some are obvious, like Broadway or Main Street. I’ve lived on Capricorn Ave (zodiac), Thornhill Dr. (Hiram Thorn), Georgia St. (the state), Athol Ave (still haven’t figured that one out), and Lynde St.

Lynde Street was declared a public road in 1886.

Lynde Street is in the Fruitvale District.

George L. Lynde owned the land in 1878

Map of Oakland and vicinity map number nine.
Published by Thompson & West, Oakland, Cala., 1878

Lynde Street was named for George L Lynde, a landowner. I don’t know precisely when he purchased the land in the Fruitvale District. I found him living there in 1866.

California Voters Registration 1866

George Lee Lynde was born in about 1838 in the state of Vermont. By 1860 he was living in California with his parents and siblings. In 1861 he married Cassandra Jane Hewitt in San Francisco. They had four children.

**1870 Federal Census for the Brooklyn Township in Oakland**

George W. Lynde 1862-1941
Matthew A. Lynde 1868-
Martha V. Lynde 1868-
Frank H. Lynde 1876-1939

The 1877 Oakland City Directory has Lynde living in Fruitvale near East 27th, right by Lynde Street.

**1880 Federal Census for District No 12 in Oakland**

Cassandra and George were divorced in 1880, and she moved to Arizona. By 1899 George was living in San Francisco and was remarried. He died in 1915.

Lynde and Howard – Tin Shop

George co-owned a Tin Shop (plumbing, hardware, and gas fixtures) located at 683 East 12th Street.

The shop suffered a significant fire in 1878.

Misc Articles

A playmate accidentally shot Lynde’s son while they were playing “robbers” out by the barn. Not sure if the name of his son is correct.

The End

Gold Star Streets

Posted on May 16, 2019 by Dorothy Londagin

In my curiosity about the street names, I noticed the phrase “gold star streets” come up. With further research, I found that many of the streets of Oakland are named after and in honor of soldiers who lost their lives in World War I and World War II and lived in Oakland.

From the Oakland Local Wiki
Gold Star Streets

The name came from the custom of families of servicemen hanging a Service Flag in the window of their homes. A blue star represented living service members. A gold star represented those who had lost their lives.

In 1919, an article in the Oakland Tribune entitled “170 Names on Oakland Honor Roll” listed all the Oakland men who lost their lives in the World War. See below

Oakland’s street commissioner W.H. Parker was quoted in a 1928 Oakland Tribune article as saying,

“Veterans who died during the World War and whose home had been Oakland are honored in the naming of many streets, and a special street sign has been designed with red, white and blue colors and a gold star for use on streets named for these veterans.” Oakland Tribune May 20, 1928

By 1932 the street department reported that there were “101 gold star streets named in honor of Oakland soldiers who died in France.” A total of 170 soldiers from Oakland were lost in battle. The names of 69 soldiers are still on the list of available street names. Oakland Tribune February 15, 1932

Montclair’s Krohn Lane is the only street named for a Korean War casualty named for Second Lt. Jered Krohn, who was killed in Korea in 1951.

This was just brought to my attention. Pfc Donald R. Colgett died on March 2, 1951, while serving with a machine gun squad with the 3rd Battalion of the 1st Marine Division at Hoensong. This street is a part of the Crestmont Subdivision.

Sample Gold Star Streets Signs

photo © Micheal Fishkin
From Oakland Local Wiki photo © Micheal Fishkin

Gold Star Streets Map

In 2016 I created a Google Map of the streets based on a list of 170 that was printed in the Oakland Tribune. From what I have determined, not all the names were used. According to one article, it was left up to the “Street Numberer” in the Department of Streets. The list was given to the department in alphabetical order, but the names were picked randomly. Some names were too difficult to spell; a veteran’s name was used whenever possible.

I also started an Oakland Local Wiki Page – Gold Star Streets

Gold Star Street in Oakland, CA

[googlemaps https://www.google.com/maps/d/embed?mid=1hHuRQakfFJiUitM3HRS-F6SDDrg&w=640&h=480]

The End

Naming Our City Streets

Posted on May 15, 2019 by Dorothy Londagin

Growing up in Montclair (for me), Thornhill Drive was always just Thornhill Drive. But come to find out it was once called Thorn Road (sometimes Thorne Road). Thornhill is a more delightful-sounding name than Thorn. But there is a perfectly good reason why it was called Thorn Road.

Thorn Road

William J. Dingee 1878 Map of Oakland, Berkeley, and Alameda. David Rumsey Map Collection –

The name goes back to 1856 when a man named Hiram Thorn (Hiram Thorne) built the road at a hefty expense. Thorn’s road brought redwood logs to Oakland out of the vast forest known as the Moraga Redwoods, where he ran a lumber mill on Pinehurst Road. Thorn was later given a franchise to run and collect tolls for the road, it was one of 3 toll roads in Oakland. In 1933 Thorn Road officially became Thornhill Drive.

From the 1870 Oakland City Directory

Since I found out about Thornhill Drive, I have been inquisitive about the names of our city streets. You can read more at the Oakland Local Wiki page Street Names if interested.