Named Olmste(a)d

When you drive down the highway, do you wonder why places or objects are named as they are. You notice the name on a building that is person and not the name of a company and wonder who they are and what they did to receive the honor of having something named for them. And when you see a business or organization that includes the family name, do you wonder who they are and what they do or services they provide. I do and that is why I created this list.

I welcome corrections and additions. Just email the information to me and I’ll add it to this page.

Cities and Communities

Olmstead, KY 42265

Olmsted, AL — zip

Olmsted, IL 62970

Olmsteadville, New York 12857 is located in the Town of Minerva, Essex County (eastern Adirondacks) and named for a lumbering family. Essex County is known as the Tyrol of America being the most mountainous county in New York State and was covered by rich forests.

Olmsted County, MN — Government site — www.co.olmsted.mn.us The County Historical Society —

Olmsted Co Genealogical Society — www.olmstedhistory.com/ocgs

Olmsted Township, Ohio — www.olmstedtownship.org

City of North Olmsted, OH — www.north-olmsted.com

City of Olmsted Falls, OH — www.olmstedfalls.org

Olmstead Village, Pinehurst, NC — www.olmstedvillage.com

Olmsted Green, Boston, MA — a residential community — www.olmstedgreen.com

Streets, Avenues, Boulevards, Ways, Roads, etc.
in cities, villages, and communities

There are so many that we have a special page just for them. Click here to review our list. We welcome corrections, additions, and especially something about who they were named for.

Cemeteries

New York
Avoca (Steuben Co.) — Olmstead Hill Cemetery
Moreau (Saratoga Co.) — Olmstead Cemetery — 19 interments; Zalmon Olmstead (1783-1853) and others related to his family.
Sprakers (Montgomery Co). — Olmstead Cemetery — on Rappa Road. Erastus Olmsted (1766-1852) family plot, fenced with seven interments.

State or Regional Parks

Olmstead State Park, NC

Olmsted Point, Yosemite National Park, Calif. — named in honor of Frederick Law Olmsted, a friend and supporter of naturalist John Muir, who led the effort to save Yosemite by creating a park that could be enjoyed by all.

Olmsted Woods on grounds of the National Cathedral, Washington, DC
www.cathedral.org/ahg/olmstedwoods.shtml

Olmstead Place State Park is a 217-acre day use park that features a working pioneer farm located near Ellisburg in the center of Washington State. The farm was the home of ….
One of the first homesteads in the Kittitas valley. The Olmstead family arrived in 1875 and lived on the farm for about 100 years before donating it to Washington State Parks in 1968. Today, it continues to be a working farm, with some of the land still worked with period equipment. The original 1875 log cabin and 1908 farmhouse (with the family’s furnishings intact) are still standing, as are most of the outbuildings.
http://www.parks.wa.gov/parkpage.asp?selectedpark=Olmstead%20Place.

Olmstead Triangle (a NYC Park) in Westchester Village, Union Port section of the Bronx, a half acre urban park.
http://www.nycgovparks.org/sub_your_park/historical_signs/hs_historical_sign.php?id=11863

Olmstead Loop Trail, Auburn (CA) State Recreation Area — 8.6 mile hiking trail named for Dan Olmstead, local hiker and owner of a outdoor supply shop. http://members.psyber.com/asra//tgolm.pdf

Olmsted Island (Montgomery County, Maryland) is located at the Falls of the Potomac River and is part of the National Capital Parks division of the National Park Service. It is an outcropping of rocks just below the falls. Prior to floods caused by Hurricane Agnes in 1972, there was just a bridge from the Maryland side of the river (Great Falls Park) to the island from whence you could climb wherever you wished; the flood destroyed the bridge. NCP-NPS has now created a set of controlled trails and bridges to preserve the area from damage and make it more accessible and safe to all who wish to get up close to and experiencing the rushing waters of the Potomac River.

Olmsted Gardens at Bok Tower, Lake Wales, Florida. The gardens began in 1921 when a Dutch immigrant, Edward W. Bok, editor of the popular women’s magazine Ladies Home Journal and his wife, Mary Louise Curtis Bok, who would found the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia in 1924, were spending the winter beside Lake Wales Ridge and decided to create a bird sanctuary on its highest hill, 295 feet above sea level. Bok commissioned noted landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. to transform what then was an arid sandhill into “a spot of beauty second to none in the country.” The first year was spent digging trenches and laying pipes for irrigation, after which soil was brought to the site by thousands of truck loads and plantings began. The Olmsted plan included the planting of 1,000 large live oaks, 10,000 azaleas, 100 sabal palms, 300 magnolias, and 500 gordonias, as well as hundreds of fruit shrubs such as blueberry and holly. For more, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bok_Tower_Gardens.

Buildings

“The Olmsted” — a mansion that is now the dinning hall of the Masonic Homes of Kentucky in Louisville. www.theolmstead.com

Camp Olmsted — 76 acres at Cornwall-on-Hudson. www.campolmsted.org.

John W. Olmsted Hall, University of California at Riverside

Olmsted Hall — the administration building at University of Evansville, IN named for Ralph Evans Olmsted, graduate class of 19xx and archivist of the University.

Olmsted Manor Retreat Center, Ludlow, PA — http://www.olmstedmanor.org

Olmsted Student Center, Drake University, Des Moines, IA. Opened in 1974 and was named after General George Hamden Olmsted. He was an Iowa born soldier, who became an international businessman and philanthropist. Although he did not attend Drake, he grew up in the Drake neighborhood and served as a long-time member of the Drake Board of Trustees. The George Olmsted Foundation provided a $2 million grant for the Olmsted Center building. General Olmsted died in Arlington, Virginia in 1998 at the age of 97.

Olmsted-Urban house, Urbandale, Iowa — Farm house home of Millard Olmsted (4010 70th St, Urbandale, IA 50322) is now the home of the Urbandale Historical Society and was listed in August 2019 on the National Register of Historical Places.

Other Places, Things, etc.

Olmstead bridge, US 64, Dare Co. NC

Olmstead Plaza — a strip mall near Harrisburg, PA (near airport which was originally Olmsted Army Field, named for airship pilot who died in France WW-I)

Schools

Frederick Law Olmsted Elementary (PS 56 & PS 64), Buffalo, NY, named for the designer of the Buffalo Parks System

North Olmsted High School, OH — named for the community in which it is located — www.nolmsted.k12.oh.us

Olmstead Elementary, Olmstead, KY — named for the community in which it is located.

Olmsted Elementary, Urbandale, IA — named for Millard Olmsted who sold a portion of his farm for the school.

Businesses

Olmstead trailer sales — Grand Rapids, MI

Olmstead Lab, University of Washington, Seattle focuses on the phylogenetic reconstruction of flowering plants by molecular methods. http://depts.washington.edu/phylo/. See also the Burke Museum Herbarium, http://www.washington.edu/burkemuseum/collections/herbarium/index.php which includes a beautiful photo of Pink Fairies in the Blue Mountains by Richard G. Olmstead. Richard Olmstead, Professor, Department of Biology, [email protected].

Olmstead Productions — www.opshow.com — apparently only a registered name as the site is not active (12/07).

Marie Louise Olmstead Memorial Museum, South Depot Street, Somonauk, Illinois 60552, (815) – 498-2417. Friends of the L. B. Olmstead Museum http://www.prairienet.com/olmstead/

Kathi Olmstead Real Estate, Eagle River, AK. Kathi Olmstead, broker and Katina Olmstead, sales. http://www.housesinalaska.com/

Josh Olmstead, musician, Philadelphia, PA www.josholmstead.com.

Olmstead Orchards, Inc. — Fresh Cherries from Washington State. 120 acres of Bing and Ranier cherries since 1918 at Grandview in the Yakima Valley by the Olmstead Family. www.olmsteadorchards.com.

Olmstead and Associates law firm, Saint Louis, MO www.olmsteadassoc.com. John D. Olmstead.

Olmsted Medical Center (? Rochester, MN) — www.olmmed.org

Olmsted-Kirk Paper Co., Dallas, TX — www.okpaper.com In 1922, Harry Olmsted and Myron Kirk acquired a Dallas paper distributorship chartered in 1905, organized Olmsted-Kirk Paper Company and set out to become a premier source of quality paper. Today the company has locations in six Texas cities: Dallas, Arlington, Austin, Fort Worth, Houston, and Waco.

The company co-founded by Harry Alborn Olmsted (1873-1941) has continued in the family with his son, Robert Merryman Olmsted (1909-1992), grandson, Robert Merryman Olmsted, Jr. (1942-2006), and great-grandson Robert Merryman Olmsted, III (1968-) in key leadership roles.

Elizabeth Pierce Olmsted, M.D. Center for the Visually Impaired, Buffalo, NY (? part of Univ. of Buffalo) — www.olmstedcenter.org
Since 1907, the Elizabeth Pierce Olmsted, M.D. Center for the Visually Impaired (formerly the Blind Association of Western New York) has been a leader in quality services for individuals who are blind or visually impaired throughout Western New York One of the first endeavors of the association was a broom factory where handicapped were able to become contributing members of society. As the organization expanded its services it provided trained workers for employment in the community, including operating the telephone switchboard at the Buffalo VA Hospital.

Among its special programs is the Statler Center with a program devoted to hospitality employment training. One of the first projects of its kind, Statler Center provides physically disabled, blind or visually impaired individuals with the right tools for successful careers in this rapidly growing industry.
In 1999 the organization was renamed to honor Elizabeth Olmsted
Doug Olmsted OTR – occupational therapy, Englewood, CO — www.dougolmstedotr.com

Olmsted National Bank, Rochester, MN named for the county in which it is located. www.olmstednationalbank.com

Olmsted Associates, Flint, MI — visual communication — www.olmstedassociates.com

Sterling Olmsted Award by American Society of Engineering Education. Named for and first presented in 1986 to Sterling Olmsted (1915-2011) of Albany, NY.

Last Updated October 12, 2019

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