#37: “The History of Datchet”, Excerpt #4

Oak Circle: America’s First Cul-de-Sac

In the fall of 1922, Fredrick Hayward, Jr., local businessman and chairman of the Datchet Aldermen, was gifted 20 acres of his father’s farmland. His intention was to build a series houses for the members of his immediate family.

Construction on the homes began late in 1922 and concluded in the late spring of 1923. Each house faced inwards towards a 200 year old oak tree on the property and were connected by a paved lane coming off of Forest Road. This new street would be called Oak Circle.

What Hayward didn’t realize at the time was that he had created the country’s first cul-de-sac. Although it was just single street, Oak Circle proceeded Radburn, NJ earliest cul-de-sac infrastructure by 5 years.

The layout of Oak Circle closely related to the dynamic of the Hayward Family. As the oldest child, Fredrick, Jr. and his family resided at the very first home on the left. His sister, Helen, and her husband George Fletcher, live next door at 39 Oak Circle. At the head of the street in between the rest of the houses, Fredrick, Jr. built a stately home for his father, mother and two youngest brothers, Gregor and Andrew. The remaining two homes were constructed as future residences for these two boys.

Unfortunately, before he was old enough to move into his home, Andrew Hayward was killed in a textile mill accident in 1927. His house at 33 Oak Circle would eventually be taken over by Fredrick, Jr.’s son, William.

The Hayward family were the exclusive residents of Oak Circle for 70 years. When a home on the street was not resided by a member of the family, it remained vacant. In the early 1990s, most of the remaining Hayward family had either moved or passed away leaving all but one of the homes on Oak Circle available for residents outside of the family.