O’Connor Woods: the History Behind the Home

Stockton is a city with a plethora of historic institutions. A surprising number of banks, manufacturing concerns, commercial houses, clubs and nonprofits can all claim to be a hundred years old or more. To stand the test of time in a city of Stockton’s size, businesses must make a name for themselves. Their products and services must be effective, and their investment in the community must be palpable. There are few businesses or organizations in Stockton that embody this more than St. Joseph’s Hospital, or their eventual subsidiary and spinoff, O’Connor Woods.

The O’Connor Woods Home for older adults, situated at 3400 Wagner Heights Road in Stockton, has existed in its present form since 1990. The institution is by all accounts one of the most comprehensive and beloved independent living facilities in San Joaquin County and houses myriad services for older adults, including a wealth of amenities, a full calendar of events, continued learning and health services. Established by St. Joseph’s staff who were inspired by Father O’Connor’s enduring vision, the facility would fast grow into one of Stockton’s premier senior facilities. The facility sold out of apartment spaces within a month of opening and has continuously expanded over the past three decades, under the steady leadership of local administrative luminaries such as longtime director Scott Sinclair.

The idea of a home for older adults in Stockton was first crafted by the barnstorming Catholic priest, Father William O’Connor. A man of “unusual piety, ability and zeal,” Father O’Connor served Stockton from 1872 to his passing in 1911. Father O’Connor was responsible for the development of much of Stockton’s Catholic infrastructure and working with local business leaders and Dominican nuns to develop St. Agnes Academy. He also worked with community leaders in immigrant populations to expand the number of Catholic parishes in the city, and in 1899, he masterminded the construction and opening of St. Joseph’s Hospital and Home for Old Men. Working with local physicians and Dominican nuns, O’Connor secured a donation of land and enough funding to build an ornate and well-appointed medical center that would grow into the Stockton institution we know today.

Central to Father O’Connor’s vision was that there be a home for older men. In Record articles from 1899 and 1900, it is well documented that while the Father had originally wished to build a Catholic university at the current hospital grounds, his mind changed after taking stock of society’s disrespect for older adults. “The lack of care shown by children for their parents in the sunset of life,” one article noted, inspired Father O’Connor to establish “a homelike retreat and refuge” where older men could live independently. The home was furnished ornately and was considered a better deal financially than similar institutions in San Francisco or Los Angeles.

Before he passed away in 1911, Father O’Connor was able to convince the Diocese of San Franciso to deed the home and hospital to the Dominican nuns of San Rafael, ensuring local control of the facilities. The St. Joseph’s Home would continue to be a fixture of the local community into the early 1960s, at which point, in the face of growing competition, St. Joseph’s closed the facility. The vision did not disappear, however, and was resurrected in the 1980s by hospital staff inspired by Father O’Connor’s vision.