The history of Oak Valley Hospital can be traced back to 1945 when the California legislature authorized voter approval to form special tax districts that allowed the commissioning and operation of public non-profit hospitals.
Gloucester CountyOak Valley / CountyOak Valley is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) located within Deptford Township in Gloucester County, New Jersey. As of the 2010 U.S. census, Oak Valley's population was 3,483.
The club began as an outgrowth of the Park Club of Plainfield, which was founded in 1889. The Park Club was a hub of social activity on the north side of the bustling and prosperous city of Plainfield.
A group of Park Club members first organized themselves into a subset of the Park Club for the purpose of playing golf in 1892. In 1895, this group of Park Club members set about developing a golf course on a piece of property owned by Park Club member Louis K. Hyde near the base of the First Watchung Mountain in North Plainfield.
The Move to Watchung Valley. The early 1920’s would prove a difficult time for the newly-renamed Hydewood Country Club. The club faced an existential crisis when the State of New Jersey condemned a portion of the club’s property for the construction of Route 29 (now US-22), the road to the newly-constructed Holland Tunnel.
The club was incorporated as “Park Golf Club” in 1898 whereupon the membership called upon Tom Bendelow to design a 9-hole course. Bendelow, known as the “Johnny Appleseed” of American golf, was a prolific designer and Park Golf Club became one of over 600 courses he designed across the country.
In 1925, the club purchased the Cooley dairy farm in what is now the Borough of Watchung. The farm was nestled along the south-facing ridgeline of the Second Watchung Mountain.
Moreover, O’Loughlin was familiar with Raynor’s unique design style as his greatest professional victory came in the 1922 Met Open contested at Lido Golf Club on Long Island, a course designed by Raynor and C.B. Macdonald.
The restoration is now complete. The project brought the course closer to Seth Raynor’s original design while marrying the holes modified by Beckett and O’Loughlin to fit harmoniously into the layout. The course features many excellent versions of Raynor’s “template” holes as well as a number of outstanding original holes. Of particular note to architecture fans are WVGC's unique Punchbowl par 3 (one of only a handful of one-shotter punchbowls in the Raynor-Banks-Macdonald portfolio), a beautiful Eden template with long views to the mountains behind, the challenging Prize Dogleg 16th and perhaps the best version of a “Bottle” hole apart from the original at National Golf Links of America.