Who Was the Harder Family?
Harder Road Named for 19th Century Immigrant Family
Jacob Harder was a German immigrant farmer who came to the region in 1867, and eventually settled in the Harder Road area. He married Theodora Jensen (the Library owns a complete set of papers containing the history of the Jensen family, who were also early immigrant ranchers and farmers in the Castro Valley and Hayward area). The Harders made important contributions to the City of Hayward, with Jacob Jr. becoming a prominent judge and member of the Hayward School Board for 30 years. Harder descendents still live in the area today. How proud they must be to climb Harder Road, named in honor of their ancestor who made a similar climb from farmer to prosperous land owner generations ago.
Judge Jacob Harder (Jr.) (above, right*) was active in local Hayward civic affairs and served so many years on the School Board that the Jacob Harder Theatre at Bret Harte School (a WPA project) was named in his honor in 1941 (scene to right). The judge’s father, Jacob Sr. (above, left), had come to the Hayward area just after the Civil War.
*images of Judge Harder courtesy of the Hayward Area Historical Society.