Garin Regional Park is a
regional park A regional park is an area of land preserved on account of its natural beauty, historic interest, recreational use or other reason, and under the administration of a form of local government.
Definition
A regional park can be a special park distri ...
located in
Hayward, California
Hayward () is a city located in Alameda County, California in the East Bay subregion of the San Francisco Bay Area. With a population of 162,954 as of 2020, Hayward is the sixth largest city in the Bay Area and the third largest in Alameda Coun ...
, that is part of the
East Bay Regional Parks system. It shares a contiguous border with sister park
Dry Creek Pioneer Regional Park. The park is the site of the former Garin Ranch, sold by Andrew J. Garin to the district in 1966.
"Ukraina Honcharenko", the former homestead of
Ukrainian
Ukrainian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Ukraine
* Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe
* Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine
* So ...
political émigré
Agapius Honcharenko
Reverend Agapius Honcharenko ( uk, Агапій Гончаренко; August 31, 1832 – May 5, 1916; real name Andrii Humnytsky (Андрій Гумницький), aka Ahapii or Ahapius), was a Ukrainian patriot and exiled Orthodox Christia ...
and a
California Historical Landmark
A California Historical Landmark (CHL) is a building, structure, site, or place in California that has been determined to have statewide historical landmark significance.
Criteria
Historical significance is determined by meeting at least one of ...
, is located in the park.
The park is situated behind the
California State University, East Bay
California State University, East Bay (Cal State East Bay, CSU East Bay, or CSUEB) is a public university in Hayward, California. The university is part of the 23-campus California State University system and offers 136 undergraduate and 60 pos ...
campus, and extends south, sharing a border with
Pleasanton Ridge Regional Park
Pleasanton Ridge Regional Park is a park in the East Bay Regional Park District overlooking Pleasanton, California and the Livermore Valley to the east. The park is scheduled to grow by almost (''sic'') with the acquisition of the Tyler Ranch.'' ...
. Summits in the park reach as high as 1,500 feet. Among the maintained trails, Garin Regional Park features several fenced off abandoned trails, some of which lead deep into the forest.
The park is used by the Hayward Area Athletic League as a high-school cross-country course. It is considered the home course of
Moreau Catholic High School
Moreau Catholic High School is a college preparatory Roman Catholic secondary school sponsored by the Moreau Province of the Congregation of the Holy Cross. It is located in Hayward, California, within the Roman Catholic Diocese of Oakland und ...
. Due to the hilly nature of the course race times are generally slower on this course than comparable distances elsewhere. The 2 and 3 mile trails that are used climb the hills at the front of the park. The entire
San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay is a large tidal estuary in the U.S. state of California, and gives its name to the San Francisco Bay Area. It is dominated by the big cities of San Francisco, San Jose, and Oakland.
San Francisco Bay drains water from a ...
can be viewed from the hills.
The park contains a small historic apple orchard with
heirloom varieties
An heirloom plant, heirloom variety, heritage fruit (Australia and New Zealand), or heirloom vegetable (especially in Ireland and the UK) is an old cultivar
A cultivar is a type of cultivated plant that people have selected for desired trai ...
. The park hosts the Garin Apple Festival in late Summer, with apples available for tasting.
Ukraina
Ukraina was the former home, and final resting place of
Agapius Honcharenko
Reverend Agapius Honcharenko ( uk, Агапій Гончаренко; August 31, 1832 – May 5, 1916; real name Andrii Humnytsky (Андрій Гумницький), aka Ahapii or Ahapius), was a Ukrainian patriot and exiled Orthodox Christia ...
and his wife, Albina.
The site, located within Garin Regional Park and dedicated on May 15, 1999, is listed on the
California Historical Landmarks
A California Historical Landmark (CHL) is a building, structure, site, or place in California that has been determined to have statewide historical landmark significance.
Criteria
Historical significance is determined by meeting at least one of ...
list.
Honcharenko lived on the property, totaling 40 acres, for 43 years during the 19th and 20th century. In 1902, the property emerged as a
commune
A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to:
Administrative-territorial entities
* Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township
** Communes of ...
when a group of Ukrainian Canadians moved to the area. The commune eventually dissolved due to management disagreements. Honcharenko went on to live on, work on, and own the property until his death in 1916. The property was then owned, until 1991, by the Meillke family. In 1991, the
East Bay Regional Park District
The East Bay Regional Park District (EBRPD) is a special district operating in Alameda County and Contra Costa County, California, within the East Bay area of the San Francisco Bay Area. It maintains and operates a system of regional parks which ...
acquired the property.
It took approximately 30 years for the property to be dedicated a historical landmark. This was primarily due to disagreements between the Russian-American and Ukrainian-American communities as to whom Honcharenko "belonged" to. Eventually it was settled in the Ukrainian favor and the place was named "Ukraina," by the Ukrainian American Honcharenko Committee. Today, the property consists of the gravesite of the Honcharenko's, the foundation of a
chicken coop
Poultry farming is the form of animal husbandry which raises domesticated birds such as chickens, ducks, turkeys and geese to produce meat or eggs for food. Poultry – mostly chickens – are farmed in great numbers. More than 60 billion chicke ...
, and a
grotto
A grotto is a natural or artificial cave used by humans in both modern times and antiquity, and historically or prehistorically. Naturally occurring grottoes are often small caves near water that are usually flooded or often flooded at high ti ...
used by Honcharenko for religious purposes. The grotto consists of a
wind cave
Wind Cave National Park is an American national park located north of the town of Hot Springs in western South Dakota. Established on January 3, 1903 by President Theodore Roosevelt, it was the sixth national park in the U.S. and the first cave ...
, six feet by three feet, that was cut out of a
sandstone
Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks.
Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...
cliff. Wall paintings exist in the grotto. Honcharenko's house stood on site until the 1950s, when it was demolished by the Meillke family due to vandalism.
Olive tree
The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'', meaning 'European olive' in Latin, is a species of small tree or shrub in the family Oleaceae, found traditionally in the Mediterranean Basin. When in shrub form, it is known as ''Olea europaea'' 'M ...
s still stand on the property. They were originally planted by Honcharenko. At the dedication ceremony in 1999, approximately 400 people of Ukrainian descent living in the United States attended.
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References
External links
Garin/Dry Creek Regional Park official web page
{{Hayward, California
East Bay Regional Park District
Parks in Hayward, California
Ukrainian-American history
Ukrainian-American culture in California
Bay Area Ridge Trail
Protected areas established in 1966
1966 establishments in California