History of HAHS

In August, 1944 the Hayward Chamber of Commerce Postwar Planning Committee produced 12 recommendations for Hayward's future, among them the formation of a historical society. The Hayward Area Historical Society was founded a little more than a dozen years later on December 6, 1956, when more than 300 people attended a meeting organized by the Hayward Chamber of Commerce at the Eden United Church of Christ (Congregational).

The group's mission was to preserve the heritage of Eden Township, an area encompassing Hayward, Castro Valley, San Lorenzo, Cherryland, Ashland, Mt. Eden and Fairview. One of the first projects was a cleanup day at San Lorenzo's Pioneer Cemetery.

The organization began operating out of a small office in the historic City Hall on Mission Boulevard, then moved in 1960 to a small office in the Eggert Building at Main & C streets, originally built in 1927 as a post office. The organization soon outgrew the allocated space and in 1974, the Hayward City Council bought the building and gave HAHS a longterm lease for the use of the entire facility. It has remained the home of the organization's administrative offices and downtown museum ever since.

The organization's first president was Manuel Furtado, and its first volunteer curator was Harry Bradford, a librarian and one of the city's first postmasters. In 1963, Beulah Linnell became the second curator and served the organization until 1979. In 1980, a grant from the Institute of Museum Services enabled HAHS to hire a part-time paid curator, Eugene Hirtle, who eventually become the society's first full-time staff member and served until 1998. Jim DeMersman, was hired in 1999 as the organization's first full-time executive director.