Weekly Acorn #4
The Oak Crest neighborhood originated around 1920. Old maps and real property records are clearly marked as Oak Crest. But somewhere the name was lost and lay dormant for many years. In those days neighborhoods did not have markers or signs to welcome you as you entered their boundries. The folks who lived there knew the name, but other people outside of OC or outside of the city may not have knowledge of it. So far, the residents I have interviewed have told me that they were aware of the name OC, but that it was not used very much.
Then during the mid 1950’s when the Reynolds family donated a portion of their estate so that Wake Forest College could relocate their campus to Winston-Salem, the Oak Crest area was in the limelight, but not as Oak Crest. Somehow the name must have been lost in all of the excitement of the new college. Soon people began talking about the “Wake Forest” area which included Oak Crest and the adjacent neighborhood of Long Acres. The title “Wake Forest Area” stuck and has been called that ever since; even though Oak Crest was around long before Wake Forest University.
With the construction of the new college came new construction in the adjacent neighborhoods and even new neighborhoods (Faculty Drive/Reynolda Woods and Woodberry Forest). It is only natural that faculty and staff would want to live close to where they would be working. The Wake Forest University Home Owners Association offers some additional interesting historical information.
A couple of years ago I recalled the name of Oak Crest when I discovered a box in my attic with the name “Oak Crest Florist” on it. I had been wanting to initiate a project or some positive strategy for the University Area Neighborhood Association (UANA) to focus on to enhance membership and participation. Thus, the Historic Oak Crest Project was born. Now we have a website, a photo gallery, and this blog to learn and enjoy the history of our neighborhood.
I hope that our efforts to learn about the rich history of Oak Crest and preserve its charm and character as well as its value to our community will make it a wonderful neighborhood for many generations in the future.