Published October 9, 2002, Oakdale Leader
1868, the California Pacific Company of Stockton made an agreement with
the Stockton & Visalia Railroad (a newly organized quasi company)
under which a railroad line was to be built from Peters, a stop on the
company's Stockton-Copperopolis Railroad line, southwest to the
Stanislaus River. The City of Stockton along with San Joaquin County had
granted a $500,000 subsidy to the Stockton & Visalia Railroad
Company to build this line.
railroad engineers from the Stockton & Visalia Railroad began the
search for the best route south from Peters and the best and safest
crossing point on the Stanislaus river. They were approached by a group
of enterprising landowners of the Camp Washington Township who had the
foresight to see the benefits that would occur from a railroad to the
area and were invited to survey their site. The engineers visited the
area and found that it met their requirements so a decision was made to
accept the offer. Landowners
Archibald Leitch (south of Valley Home), E.B. Beard (Dry Creek to
Waterford), A. Burnett (south of Leitch's) to Stanislaus river), A. J. Patterson & A. E.
Purcell (B to J streets) gave rights of way deeded to the Stockton
railroad group. The last parcel of land was "loaned" to the
railroad by Zora and F.
M. Cottle (Burnett's to
Beard's). Thus the town of Oak Dale was born.
The laying of track proceeded south from Peters to Farmington and
then southeast to Cometa and on to the newly laid-out town of Oak Dale.
after operations were put into effect both the Stockton-Copperopolis
Railroad and the Stockton & Visalia Railroad lines were absorbed
into the Central Pacific Railroad system which in 1885 became part of
the Southern Pacific Railroad lines.
and streets were laid-out parallel to the proposed railroad line through
the center of the new town site on the south bank of the Stanislaus
River. The chosen site was less than a mile west or downstream of the
Stockton-Mariposa Military Road ferry crossing on the river. Suggested
names for this new community included Oak Dale, Oak Grove and Live Oak.
Oak Dale was selected as the most appropriate one because of the
majestic oak groves located along the river
which were said to cover a strip of land three miles wide and
fifteen miles long. Later the name was contracted to Oakdale at the
request of the government post office.
was formally born on October 3, 1871 when Postmaster Robert Sydnor of
Langworth moved the U.S. post from
the nearby community his general merchandise store located on the
northwest corner of West Railroad (now N. Yosemite) avenue and F street
in Oakdale. The town had
been laid out with First and Sixth avenues as the west and east
boundaries. A and J
streets were the north and south boundaries
West and East Railroad avenues were located on each side of the
train tracks dividing the
middle of town in a north to south direction.
to the Stanislaus County Weekly
News, the first locomotive of the Stockton & Visalia Railroad
reached the southern bank of the Stanislaus River on November 12, 1871
at 3:00 A.M. The locomotive, named the Andrew
Jackson, arrived at the railroad depot in the morning two days later
following the tracks as they were laid down the center of the divided
area between East & West Railroad Avenues.
the time of Oakdale's founding, a reporter from a Stockton newspaper
reported twenty-one buildings in the town which included a stable for
Hardin, Schadlich & Hamlin. This is probably the J.B. Stearns
blacksmith shop that still remains standing. This makes it the longest
related business in Oakdale at same location. The list continues
with Doctor Hazen's office, a barber shop, Buddington's saloon,
Robert Sydnor's general
merchandise store, a Chinese wash house,
Mrs. Dodson's rooming house (or hotel) and a skating rink.
Much of the business community of nearby towns soon moved to
Oakdale. The new town
became a prosperous one in a very short time.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY OAKDALE ON YOUR ONE HUNDRED & THIRTY-FIRST BIRTHDAY !!!!!
© 2002 Glenn Burghardt, Oakdale, California