Hayward, CA · The grave of Cornelius Mohr, pioneer of the Mount Eden area of Hayward. Cornelius Mohr was born in 1822 in Germany. He spent his early working years aboard a whaling ship that eventually landed him in San Francisco in 1852. Instead of heading to the gold country like his shipmates, Mohr decided to remain in San Francisco, working as a carpenter before joining a threshing team on the Joel Russell farm in Mount Eden. He quickly saved enough money to purchase his own farm. In 1856, Mohr bought 200 acres from Russell to cultivate wheat and barley. He also raised horses and cattle. This initial success enabled him to purchase more land and he soon had amassed a sizable fortune. According to accounts by the family, “the land he bought... was on both sides of Hesperian Boulevard, starting at a point of intersection of Turner Court and Hesperian, going east along Turner Court to Calaroga, and following Calaroga south and east across Jackson... to Skokie, then south to Sleepy Hollow and west to Clawiter Road.” Cornelius married Cecelia Toaspern, also from Germany in 1857. Together they had seven children. After farming for several years, Mohr started construction of a homestead for his growing family. Around 1876, he constructed a large two-story Italianate house with twenty-five rooms, including fourteen bedrooms, a caretaker’s cottage and carriage house with rooms for thirty-two horses and their related tack. A large barn, tank house, blacksmith shop and shed also date to this period. A pillar of the local community, Cornelius served as a trustee for the Mount Eden Grammar School District and donated land for the Mount Eden Community Church. He was also known for encouraging immigration from his homeland and providing jobs on his farm for recent arrivals. When he passed away in 1880, he left a large fortune and a grieving community. His descendants cultivated the 280 acres around the family home until 1961, when 271 acres were seized through eminent domain for the construction of Chabot College. The remaining 9 acres retained most of the original buildings but ended the Mohr family tradition of agricultural pursuits. #haywardhistory #mounteden #ilovehayward
Posted on: Sun, 14 Dec 2014 04:43:25 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015