Structures named for Olmste(a)ds
In development — this will be a listing of schools and other structures named for family members or communities
GEORGIA
Olmstead Lake and Dam in Richmond County.
ILLINOIS
Ashmore
Olmstead School (historical) in Coles County.
Olmsted
Olmsted Locks and Dam on the Ohio River. Named for the adjacent community. (See the communities page.) Dedicated in 2025 the new Olmsted Locks and Dam, replacing locks 52 & 53 will enhance river traffic and continued to provide flood control for the region.
INDIANA
Olmstead
Olmstead Elementary and Middle School
INDIANA
Evansville
The old Olmstead school was on Olmstead Ave near Stringtown Rd and Pigeon Creek. The old township school served the area north of Evansville near the old Negley Mill. It was later replaced by the larger Henry Reis School as the growing city expanded north. The building was demolished in 1962.
Olmsted Administration Hall, University of Evansville was named in honor of Ralph Olmsted (1899-1983), a graduate and for many years the assistant to the President, business manager, journalism instructor, and archivist of the University, retiring in 1980 after more than fifty years serving the University. An Olmsted Maple tree was planted in front of the building in 19..
The Gothic-style building was completed on June 12, 1922. It is constructed of Indiana limestone. Known as Administration Hall until 1981, it was the only building on the school’s campus until 1947 when Igleheart was built. It was refurbished in 1986. Currently, in addition to offices it houses WUEV 91.5 FM and the Internet Applications Laboratory (IALab).
IOWA
Des Moines
Olmsted Center at Drake University is named for General George H. Olmsted, former Des Moines resident and benefactor of the University. Built in the 1970s it is the student center for many activities. See history and more here.
Urbandale
Olmsted Elementary School
The Olmsted Family Farmhouse, also known as the Olmsted-Urban House, is an historic building located in Urbandale, Iowa, United States. Leander and Charlotte Olmsted from Auburn, New York acquired 80 acres (32 ha) of land in Polk County, Iowa in 1867. They built a house on the property where they raised their sons Millard and Clarence, and bought additional land for their farm. In 1904, about the time Millard married his wife Olive, Leander had this two-story, frame, American foursquare house built.
Millard and Olive helped Leander farm and they raised their six children here. Both Millard and his brother Clarence were influential in the formation of Urbandale in 1917 with Clarence serving on the first town council and Millard on the school board. In 1937, 10 acres of the farm were platted for building lots. Karl and Matie Urban acquired the house in 1947, and the Urbandale Historic Society bought the house from their estate in 1987. They converted it into their headquarters and to house their collection of Urbandale memorabilia. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2019. [Wikipedia]
KENTUCKY
Olmstead
Olmstead Elementary and Middle School
NEW YORK
Buffalo
Olmsted Elementary School — PS 64
Olmsted High School at Kensington — PS 156
Richardson-Olmsted Hotel
Harpersville
W. A. Olmsted Elementary School was named in honor of Winthrop Aaron “W.A.” Olmsted (1898-1990) who moved his young family from the mid-west to take over his father’s farm. In the early 1930s the movement to create centralized schools from the one-room schools that ha been established in earlier times was being considered in the Town of Colesville in eastern Broome County. W.A. worked with other community leaders to replace the 19 schools that students walked to with one in Harpursville that would have school bus service for the rural areas. W.A. was selected as the first principal, and as the school grew as he became the supervising principal, serving in that position for over 30 years. At the same time continued his 150 acre farm with dairy, livestock, and field crops. After his retirement, the original building that had served K-12 was transitioned to the high school and a new elementary building was built and named in his honor.
Staten Island
Olmsted-Beil House is a historic property of the New York City Parks Department. FLO lived and farmed here (Tosomock Farm, 1848-1855). The house (c.1685) has had many tenants over the years before being gifted to NYC by Carlton and Louise Bier in 2006. The property is being restored by the Friends of the Olmsted-Beil House (FOBH).
PENNSYLVANIA
Middletown
Olmsted Building on the campus of Penn State–Harrisburg houses academic administration. It is located on the site of the former Olmsted Air Force Base named for Robert Sanford Olmsted. (See the “Streets” page for more information.
and Olmste(a)d Family Association, 2017-2026
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