Tales of the San Francisco Peninsula
by
Theron G. Cady
A series of articles first published in 'Peninsula Life Magazine'
Published by C-T Publishers, San Carlos, California, 1948
Six years less than a
century ago, two men, D.J. Oliver and D.C. McGlynn, whose wives were sisters,
came to the San Francisco Peninsula from Menlough on Lough Corrib, County
Galway, Ireland. They were seeking a homesite, a place to raise their
families and finally decided on a beautiful 1,700-acre tract along California's
main highway.
At the entrance to their
combined estates they erected a tall wooden gate with an arch upon which
they inscribed the name "Menlo Park" in bold foot-high letters. In
the center of this arch they put the date "August 1854" and on the two
smaller arches spanning the footpaths to the right and left of the main
gate they placed their names: D.J. Oliver and D.C. McGlynn.
This gate gave its name
to the Menlo Park railroad station which was built in 1863 and to the village
that grew up around it. On July 7, 1922 the Menlo Park gate which
had stood its ground bravely for sixty-eight years and had seen many changes
come to its surroundings, was struck by a speeding automobile and destroyed.
With its passing went one of the Peninsula's earliest landmarks.