Mosswood is roughly the area between 580 and 40th Street and 24 and Broadway. The name comes from the original owner, J. Mora Moss and his wife, Julia Wood.
History
1893 2
J. Mora Moss (of the J. Mora Moss house) bought the land that is central to Mosswood in 1862. Moss lived in San Francisco but wanted a "country estate." Mosswood fit the bill since Oakland only extended to 22nd Street, and at the time his land went all the way to 35th Street (35th-38th between Broadway and Telegraph, approximately 30 acres and included parts of Glen Echo Creek.)
Moss died in 1880, Wood died in 1904 and they had no children. Even before Wood's death, some of the land was subdivided and sold for homes. When Mayor Frank K Mott took office in 1905, one of his priorities was acquiring parklands. Mott's City Attorney, John McElroy, went over his assigned amount ($65,100) and purchased the land that became Mosswood Park which became city property in 1911.
Moss is also the namesake of Moss Avenue, part of which is now MacArthur Blvd. Mosswood Park also became MacArthur Park in 1942 for a few months until the citizens of Oakland threw a fit and the name went back. 1
Pages tagged “Mosswood”
Links and References
- Mailman, Erika. Oakland's Neighborhoods. Oakland: Mailman Press, 2005
- Mosswood! Oakland Tribune March 14, 1893
