Oakland Trotting Park (Now Huchiun Park)

Oakland Trotting Park (Now Huchiun Park)

It’s hard to overstate the influence of Oakland Trotting Park in Emeryville’s founding, growth and independence that still reverberates today.

Built by Captain Edward Wiard 25 years before “Emeryville” existed as a town, the race track might be the biggest reason Emeryville resisted annexation by Oakland and incorporated as its own city in 1896.

Born in New Haven, Connecticut in 1815, Wiard migrated west to join the gold rush arriving in San Francisco in 1850.

After working for several years in the gold fields, Wiard settled in the Eastern Bay Area.

In 1859, Wiard purchased a 115-acre tract of land along the shoreline in an area that was once occupied by the native Muwekma Ohlone people and more recently owned by Vicente Peralta as part of Rancho San Antonio. Descendants of Peralta began selling tracts of this land to help pay for the many sources of litigation required to defend the vast property.

One of these tracts, the so-called “Shell Mound tract,” was sold to Wiard.

Wiard initially farmed the land but then sought other uses to generate revenue from his purchase.

With the growing population’s desire for recreation, he had a one-mile long oval race track built on his property that was completed and opened on Independence Day in 1871. Temescal Creek flowed west through the center of the track and bridges were built where it crossed the creek. A seven-foot high fence surrounded the track with an entrance on Hollis Street a block north of Park Avenue..

It was named Oakland Trotting Park. The term “trotting” was synonymous with a form of racing called “harness racing” where the jockey rode in a two-wheeled cart called a sulky.

Wiard also built and managed a hotel to accommodate racetrack fans. The complex also included stables and a grandstand.

The park grew popular and in 1873 it hosted the first California Derby. It also hosted President Ulysses S. Grant and saw a 1879 record-breaking run by the horse “St. Julien.”

Just west of the track, Shell Mound Park was built in 1876 featuring a resort and picnic area, shooting range, merry-go-round, foot race track and two dance pavilions.

In 1877, The Northern Railway was extended from Oakland to Martinez bisecting Wiard’s property and the two recreational amenities.

Wiard’s efforts left him in debt and he eventually was forced to relinquish the track due to financial insolvency in the early 1880s. He died in 1886 at the age of 71.

In 1886, Judge James Mee of San Francisco bought the property and assumed the $81,000 mortgage. Mee operated Oakland Trotting Park until his death on June 26, 1894.

In May 1894, Thomas Williams leased the trotting park from the Mee estate.
Williams sought to repair and improve the aging facility. In 1896 he replaced the grandstand with a magnificent structure resembling a Japanese pagoda.

The renovated track was renamed the New California Jockey Club. The improved track featured thoroughbred racing where jockeys raced in a saddle as opposed to a sulky. The form of racing was more dangerous, and more exciting.

The track attracted a variety of colorful jockeys, many of them Black, that drew crowds and were the subject of salacious news headlines.

The new track flourished, attracting racetrack fans from all over the Bay Area.

The nearby Park Avenue District thrived because of the proximity of the track and became the epicenter of the city with around 500 residents.

The presence of the track attracted other businesses to the district, some welcomed, and some not. Park Avenue became lined with hotels, restaurants, card rooms, saloons and brothels.

Oakland, first incorporated in 1852, was rapidly expanding during this period. Berkeley incorporated in 1878 and both cities were eyeing the land tracts comprising what is now Emeryville. At the same time, religious and anti-gambling forces were targeting the areas for reforms.

In 1893, Alameda county supervisors passed an ordinance restricting gambling impacting the track’s ability to host events and draw fans.

Business leaders assembled around incorporating a city to protect their revenue … and autonomy.

They drew boundaries that included their interests, and excluded their opposition, namely the many churches in the Golden Gate District.

An election was held on December 2, 1896 and approved by a vote of 150-28.

This move protected the track for a while, but these religious and anti-gambling forces continued to organize and pressure elected officials to curb this activity they deemed immoral and corrosive to society.

In 1910, the state passed an anti-gambling bill that removed a vital source of revenue for the track.

After efforts to pivot, the track was forced to close and the last horse race occurred on February 15, 1911.

After the demise of horse racing, the Emeryville track was used for other purposes, including automobile races, motorcycle races, and biplane meets.

In 1915 the Mee estate decided to develop the property and subdivide it into an industrial business park.

In the fall of 1915 a wrecking crew began dismantling the grandstand, stables, and other track buildings. On December 15, 1915, before the demolition could be completed, the remaining buildings caught fire and burned to the ground.

The death knell for nearby Shell Mound park came soon after when in 1920 prohibition was instituted. The park closed four years later.

Industry quickly moved in and in 1920, Sherwin-Williams Paint built their million dollar west coast plant at the site of where the park stables once were.

The paint factory was an economic engine and large source of employment for the city for several decades until their closure in 2006. Emeryville continued its push for a more residential and retail-fueled tax base.

The site required years of toxic remediation from its years as a paint factory before it could be developed. A plan for 500 housing units and 2 acre park proposed by Lennar Multifamily (later renamed “Quarterra”) was approved by the city in 2016.

The city solicited the public for ideas for naming the park. Emeryville City Council ultimately selected “Huchiun Park,” one of the five names recommended by a subcommittee. Huchiun is the word for the land used by the native Muwekma Ohlone people.

In 2023, coinciding with the city’s annual Harvest Festival, the site returned to its former life as a recreational space for the public.