If you've ever wondered where Cherryland got its name, start at Meek Mansion. The Victorian house at 17365 Boston Road in unincorporated Cherryland, just north of Hayward, was built in 1869 by William Meek, and it's on the National Register of Historic Places.
The orchard king
Meek came west on the Oregon Trail in 1847 with seeds and grafted trees, according to Wikipedia. He settled first in Oregon's Willamette Valley and moved to Alameda County in 1859. By the time the mansion was built, he owned about 3,000 acres planted with cherry, apricot, plum and almond trees. The cherry trees were so plentiful that the area became known as Cherryland. Meek was also a Mills College trustee and an Alameda County supervisor. He died in 1880.
The house
Wikipedia describes a 7,902-square-foot house with 23 to 27 rooms on three levels, a cupola, a mansard roof, a bull's-eye window in the central tower and paired arched windows. Its basement has an unusual bracing system of thick diagonal timbers, a smart choice in fault country. The house sits on 9.75 acres that work as a park, with picnic areas and paths.
The Hayward Area Recreation and Park District bought the home in 1964. It closed in 1982 after heavy use. In 2004 the park district leased the mansion and carriage house to the Hayward Area Historical Society, which has worked on restoring it.
Visiting
The historical society opens the mansion on select days. In 2026 those were March 7, April 4, May 2, June 6, Aug. 1, Sept. 5 and Oct. 3, with self-guided tours of the first floor from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The house is closed in January, February, July and November, and the society says it will add hours in December for the holidays.
- Admission: suggested donation of $5
- Parking: free in the lot and on nearby streets
- Accessibility: wheelchair accessible on the first floor only
- No photography inside