Down at the end of my street where I live is the city limits between San Leandro and Oakland. Less than 20 houses away from me is the Dunsmuir Historic Estate.
My mother and I have volunteered here since at least 20 years as docent tour guides.
The mansion was built in 1899 as a wedding gift from Alexander Dunsmuir to his Bride Josephine Wallace Dunsmuir.
Alexander was the son of Canadian Coal Baron Robert Dunsmuir. Robert Dunsmuir massed a huge fortune on Vancouver Island in British Columbia Canada. The Dunsmuir & Dingle Coal company ended up with three collieries, shipping, railroads, real estate and lumber.
Alexander the younger of the two Dunsmuir sons was sent down to San Francisco, which was the marketplace for their company's coal in 1870. In San Francisco Alexander was to manage the coal distribution and shipping arms of the company.
Alexander, a single man would spend his evenings in the theaters. He eventually became friends with Waller Wallace who worked in one of the theaters. Waller invited Alexander to his home. Alexander met Waller Wallace's wife and the two quickly fell in love with each other. The affair caused a divorce in the Wallace household.
Alexander and Josephine wanted to marry. Alexander's parents back in Victoria would not allow Alexander to marry a divorcee and show folk on top of that. Alexander would be dis-inherited from the Dunsmuir fortune if he was to marry "that woman".
Edna Wallace, Josephine's daughter went with Alexander and Josephine. Waller Wallace Jr., Josephine's son went with his father.
In the height of Victorian Era San Francisco, Alexander and Josephine live together out of wedlock. This was very scandalous indeed.
Even though Alexander was one of the wealthiest people in San Francisco, he could have lived on top of Nob Hill with the elite of society. Because of his situation, he lived a very seclude private life, out of the public eye.
The stress of not being able to marry the woman he loved, Alexander took to drinking.
In 1889, Robert Dunsmuir passed away, Alexander and his brother James began to run the company on their own without their father's direction. Their mother Joan Dunsmuir still controlled the purse strings of the family fortune.
1899, Joan gave up control of the fortune to Alexander and James. No longer in fear of being dis-inherited, Alexander proposed to Josephine. Construction soon began on "OAKVALE PARK" the Dunsmuir estate.
"OAKVALE PARK" built on 500 acres in the San Leandro Hills. It was to be a lavish country estate in the Country Place design style, with large natural meadows with specimen plantings from all around the world, but still in a natural setting.
The Dunsmuir's chose Joshua Eugene Freeman to design the mansion which is 16,224 square feet in size. On the third floor there was the servants quarters. The second floor contained a lavish master bedroom suite that contained a his master bedroom and a hers master bedroom with dressing rooms and bathrooms between. Several smaller quest suites for family and close friends to spend the summers at the mansion.
San Leandro was chosen due to the fact that the Dunsmuirs had now grown accustomed to the privacy that their lifestyle had warranted. This large estate would serve them just fine.
Well, in December of 1899, Josephine and Alexander finally wed. They embarked on a railroad trip to New York to visit Josephine's daughter Edna. Edna Wallace had since become a grown woman, a dancer on the Broadway stage as a Flora Dora Girl. Edna Married to producer Dewolf Hopper.
Just 40 days into their new marriage Alexander passed away of alcoholic related meningitis. Josephine came back from her honeymoon a widow. Just 18 month's later Josephine would be dead also, this time, for her, cancer took her life.
Edna inherited the newly constructed mansion, however, non of the money from the family fortune. She ended renting the mansion out to the Hellman family from San Francisco to use as a summer home.
In 1906 the Hellman's purchased the mansion at auction. The Hellmans, owned Wells Fargo Bank and wanted a summer home to escape the city. "OAKVALE PARK" allowed them the room that they could not have in San Francisco. Amenities were added such as a golf course, hedge mazes, swimming pools, tennis courts.
The Hellman's used the mansion as their summer home until 1959.
The City of Oakland purchased the home in the 1960's and developed the Northern edge of the property into the Peralta Oaks Business Park.
The Non-Profit Organization "Dunsmuir Historic Estate, Inc." operates the house museum, gives tours, educates the community and most importantly maintains and restores this beautiful mansion.
