Samuel Merritt

Who was Samuel Merritt?

Dr. Samuel Merritt was a successful San Francisco physician and also the 13th mayor of Oakland, California from 1867–69.

Merritt was originally from Maine and moved to California. He bought land in what is now the city of Oakland in 1852 and moved there in 1863.

In 1867, he donated 155 acres of dammed tidal water from the headwaters of Indian Slough which became known as "Merritt's Lake" and later as Lake Merritt.

He left plans for a hospital and nursing school to be built in his name after his death. His dream was realized in 1909 when Samuel Merritt University and Merritt Hospital opened. He is buried in Mountain View Cemetery in Oakland.