Oakdale, Holyoke, Massachusetts

Oakdale is a neighborhood in Holyoke, Massachusetts located to the west of the city center, adjacent to downtown. Developed as a streetcar suburb in the late nineteenth century, today the neighborhood contains many Victorian houses, and about 460 acres (190 ha) of mixed residential and commercial zoning, as well as Forestdale Cemetery, Saint Jerome Cemetery, Rohan Park, and Holyoke Medical Center.[1][3]

Oakdale
Neighborhood of Holyoke
The Oakdale Pharmacy building, a former streetcar stop and one of the neighborhood's few commercial blocks
Oakdale Show map of Holyoke Oakdale Show map of Massachusetts Oakdale Show map of the United States
Coordinates: 42°12′15.3″N 72°37′28.31″W
Country	United States
State	Massachusetts
City	Holyoke
Wards	4, 6
Precincts	4A, 4B, 6A, 6B
Established	August 1885
Founded by	Oren D. Allyn
Area [1]
• Total	0.72 sq mi (1.9 km^2)
Elevation [2]	190 ft (58 m)
ZIP code	01040
Area code(s)	413
GNIS feature ID	609059[2]
MACRIS ID	HLY.E

History

The estate of founder-developer Oren D. Allyn in 1891; not pictured here is the houses's extensive rose garden. Though the barn has long since been demolished, the house still stands today, with much of its land developed as subdivisions.

Undeveloped prior to the founding of the Hadley Falls Company, Oakdale was originally shown on maps as a series of unbuilt but planned roads and extensions of the Holyoke grid plan, for more than 30 years however, these roads existed solely on paper. Following a town meeting in 1860 the Holyoke Water Power Company set aside a large tract of its lands for the establish a secular burying ground which became Forestdale Cemetery, and around this same time the St. Jerome's Cemetery was established in a tract adjacent.[4] Much of the land at this time was otherwise owned by the Allyn family.[5]

The son of Anderson Allyn and nephew of Samuel B. Allyn, prominent members of Holyoke in its founding days, developer Oren D. Allyn first began grading land in the area in the spring of 1885.[6] Up until that time it had primarily been used as farmland by his father. In that same year Allyn, often referred by his initial's "O.D.", gave the neighborhood its name, Oakdale. With its sloping hills and view of the downtown, he would market it as improved housing for mill workers "of moderate means",[6] and by the time of his death in 1929 he came to be known as the "father of Oakdale", as the neighborhood contained some 300 houses he had developed there.[7]

One of Allyn's pastimes had been rose cultivation, his own home on the corner of Hampshire and Locust Street attracted hundreds of visitors each summer to see a reported 149 varieties, and was described by the Boston Globe at the time as a tourist attraction of the city.[8][9] Indeed as a member of the board of public works, Allyn was described as an advocate of the city beautiful movement and it was noted each house he developed had enough yard-space for gardens.[7] Often his family donated or sold trimmings to neighbors who had bought those houses, contributing to a culture of rose gardens once ubiquitous in that part of the city.[7] For many years his wife would host an informal neighborhood social group at the gardens known as the Oakdale Society which, among other causes, raised money through luncheons and tea for children's welfare and health.[10][11]

The area is today characterized by many modest late-19th and early 20th century houses, as well as a handful of estates, the most prominent of which is that of Judge John Hildreth, built in 1882, it is better known today as the former Yankee Pedlar Inn.[12][13] Less conspicuously placed is "Pinehurst", a large estate surrounded by a stand of conifers, which was constructed by James H. Newton in 1909, then-president of the Chemical Paper Company, one of the last independent paper-mills of the city at that time.[14]

References

1. Spatial analysis of "Holyoke Neighborhoods" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 August 2017. Retrieved 3 Jun 2016.
2. "Rock Valley, Holyoke, Massachusetts". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 13 February 2018.
3. HLY.E, MACRIS, Massachusetts Historical Commission.
4. "Holyoke". History of the Connecticut Valley in Massachusetts, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers. II. Philadelphia: Louis H. Everts; Press of J.B. Lippincott and Co. 1879. p. 928. OCLC 866692568.
5. Atlas of Hampden Co., Massachusetts from actual Surveys by and under the Direction of F.W. Beers. New York: Beers, Ellis & Soule. 1870.
6. "Attractive Oakdale". Springfield Republican. Springfield, Mass. August 24, 1886. p. 5. Oakdale, the new section of the city located at the southern slope of Fairmount, was a barren tract of land less than two years ago giving little promises of becoming the attractive spot which it is to-day. One year ago last spring O. D. Allyn, the owner of the property, began to grade the land, dividing it up into city lots, and the following August he had his first house ready for sale...
7. "Oren D. Allyn, former Holyoke official, dead; served on Board of Public Workers—Well-Known Real Estate Dealer—Expert on Rose Culture". Springfield Republican. Springfield, Mass. January 6, 1929. p. 4.
8. "On the proposed formation of such a concern to be known as the Hadley Falls Trust Company...". Boston Sunday Globe. Boston. July 16, 1916. p. 14. Many from this city have visited South Hadley Center the past week to look at the roses which line the street at the Joseph Skinner farm. The fence along the highway is covered for a long distance with crimson ramblers, and they are just coming into full bloom. The O. D. Allyn rose garden In this city is also attracting considerable attention. There are likewise many amateur rose growers In Holyoke whose collections are well worth attention.
9. "Parks Visited By Commission;Board Members Find Outing Spots in Excellent Condition; Roses are Admired; O. D. Allyn Has 149 Varieties at His Home". Springfield Union. Springfield, Mass. June 25, 1914. p. 16. In addition to viewing the parks, the party also dropped in to inspect O. D. Allyn's magnificent rose beds at his home, Hampshire and Locut [sic] Streets, which is said to be the most beautiful section of the State
10. "Holyoke". Springfield Republican. Springfield, Mass. April 4, 1901. p. 8. The Oakdale society will meet with Mrs. O. D. Allyn this afternoon
11. "Thrift Shop Open". Springfield Republican. Springfield, Mass. April 26, 1921. p. 3. The Thrift shop at the old Guyott house opened today for a week. Proceeds of the sale will go to the childrens' welfare and health work...Noon lunches and afternoon tea will be served in a tearoom on the second floor by the women of the Oakdale society...
12. HLY.1355, MACRIS, Massachusetts Historical Commission.
13. Richards Standard Atlas of the City of Holyoke, Massachusetts. Springfield, Mass.: Richards Map Company. 1911.
14. HLY.486, MACRIS, Massachusetts Historical Commission.