Elmhurst, Oakland, California

Elmhurst is a residential neighborhood in the southernmost part of Oakland, California. Originally a separate town, it was annexed by Oakland in 1909, and today is considered part of East Oakland.

History

Elmhurst began in 1865, when a railroad station was constructed by the San Francisco and Oakland Railroad. [http://books.google.com/books?id=Yfa0hmE7yocC California's Geographic Names: A Gazetteer of Historic and Modern Names of the State] ] Originally named "Jones", the station was renamed "Elmhurst" in 1869. The town's first post office was established in 1892. The town of Elmhurst was primarily an agricultural community. After the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake, East Bay communities grew in population, and the City of Oakland annexed several surrounding communities in 1909, including Elmhurst. The neighborhood grew into a manufacturing center in the years that followed, with automobile manufacturing playing a significant role. [http://www.fopl.org/elmhurst.htm Elmhurst Branch: Changing with the Neighborhood] - Friends of the Oakland Public Library] Chevrolet opened an auto assembly plant in Elmhurst in 1915, which shut down in the 1950s.

Elmhurst was the site of one of the large carbarns for the Key System's streetcars, the Elmhurst Carhouse.

Although it was historically a white working-class neighborhood, it became predominantly African American after World War II, and today, Latinos now form about half of Elmhurst's population.

References