Have you ever wondered why it is called Shepherd Canyon?
It named after the Shepherd Family who owned about 200 acres and lived there from about 1875 to the early 1900s.
You can view the location of Shepherd’s land in a Map of the City of Oakland, Berkeley, Oakland & Brooklyn Townships, and Alameda dated 1889 Published by E.P. Vandercook & Co. Real estate agents.
William J Shepherd (1844-1921) emigrated from England in about 1865 with his parents Thomas and Ellen Shepherd, brothers John and Thomas and sisters Mary Ann and Elizabeth.
Wm. J. Shepherd granted citizenship
In 1878 William married Mary Rogers (1842-1907). They had six children, William, James, Mary, Ellen, Louise, and Robert. They attended the Hays School.
Hays School Graduation – 1901
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Graduation at Hays School – Robert Shepherd -
William Shepherd died in San Jose in 1921
Shepherd Pass Road –
A few articles discussing building a road that would run through the Canyon to connect to Skyline using County Road 2457 (now Shepherd Canyon Road).
Oakland Tribune Daily Knave 1953. Settling a moot point in Oakland nomenclature from William’s nephew.
Links
- Montclair Railroad Trail – Oakland Local Wiki
- Friends of the Montclair Railroad Trail – website
- Unbuilt Highway 77 – Our Oakland Blog
