What are the stories behind some of Modesto’s street names? Take a drive down memory lane

Ever driven by a local street and wondered how it got its name?

Multiple times over the decades The Bee has shared that one of Modesto’s biggest east-west arteries, Briggsmore Avenue, got its name from a combination of the Briggs and Whitmore ranching families.

But there are plenty of other streets in town with stories behind their names.

Maud Kump Terrace and Dragoo Park Drive

Traveling Claremont Avenue toward Sherwood Elementary School, you’ll come across Maud Kump Terrace, a short street lined with four homes on one side, Sherwood Park on the other. Maud Kump (1897-1955) was married to Dr. Samuel Dragoo (1893-1978). Dragoo owned 20 acres that eventually developed into the neighborhood surrounding Dragoo Park Drive, a street named after him.

Maud, an esteemed nurse, graduated with honors from Drury University in Springfield, Missouri. Following their retirement, the couple resided in Santa Rosa. Sadly, Maud Dragoo died in a car crash while returning from a local Pi Beta Phi Sorority meeting in Santa Rosa in 1955.

Side note: There is no Dragoo Park. The public park just off Dragoo Park Drive in north Modesto is named Coffee Claratina Neighborhood Park.

Bel Passi Drive

It is Italian for “Nice Steps.” David Seymour, executive director of the McHenry Museum Historical Society, guesses that it’s a name given by local Italian ranchers for its scenery.

Side note: Bel Passi Drive is nowhere near the Bel Passi Baseball facility, which is about 3.5 miles east, on Roselle Avenue.

Blue Gum Drive

Blue gum trees, a type of eucalyptus, were prevalent in the area. According to a 1907 article in the Modesto Herald, these trees were seen as valuable and were expected to lead to significant forestation in the Valley, establishing an important industry locally.

Coffee Road

Coffee Road got its name not from some long-lost plantation, or an abundance of coffee shops on the north-south stretch from Riverbank to Scenic Drive, but from a prominent family in Modesto.

Coffee Road honors Stockard Coffee, who also lent his name to an elementary school in Modesto. The Coffee family relocated from Tennessee to Modesto in 1865, establishing itself in ranching and becoming one of Stanislaus County’s early pioneer families. Coffee was involved in local government, serving on the county’s Board of Supervisors and the Modesto City Council. He was also a longstanding member of the Wildey Lodge of Odd Fellows in Modesto, joining in 1873.

Downey Avenue

Downey derives its name from Thomas Downey, born in 1859. When he was 30, Downey relocated from Iowa to assume the role of principal at the Fourteenth Street School, Modesto’s first temporary school. He served as the first principal of Modesto High School upon its opening, eventually rising to superintendent of the city school district. The avenue originally was called Annie Street.

Lance and Ellis streets

These streets honor Modesto builder Lance Ellis, whose legacy includes over 4,000 homes in Modesto and numerous professional subdivisions. Among his notable projects is the shopping center on the southwest corner of Tully Road and Bowen Avenue, known as Gregory Gardens, named after his son. Ellis named Carol and Lambert streets after his wife, Carol Leone Lambert.

Originally from Iowa, Carol moved with her family to Southern California at the age of 8 before settling in Modesto in the early 1940s. She worked at Hammond General Hospital, which is now home to Modesto Junior College’s West Campus.

Lance and Carol initially raised their three children — Renee Suzanne, Gregory Lance and Joni Faye — on Carol Street near Colfax Avenue. Each child’s first and middle names are commemorated as street names in various neighborhoods across Modesto. Additionally, Ada Street, south of Carol and Lambert, was named after Carol’s grandmother.

Mt. Vernon Drive and Monticello Avenue

Named after Lance Ellis’s favorite vacation spots. Seymour said this probably was because he ran out of family names to use.

Standiford Avenue

This street is named after the Standiford family, prominent pioneer residents of Stanislaus County. A.N. Standiford, born near Vincennes, Crawford County, Indiana on Dec. 16, 1835, was the son of John and Jane (Osborne) Standiford. His father hailed from Kentucky, while his mother was from Indiana. As a young child, his family moved to Cass County, Missouri, and later settled in Schuyler County, where Standiford grew up.

In 1863, most of the family journeyed westward to California, crossing the plains from Missouri, passing through Omaha and following the old emigrant road along the north shore of the Platte River. They then took the Carson route and eventually settled in Stanislaus County, not far from where Standiford lived for many years. Standiford’s land was in the area of today’s Standiford avenue.

Rumble Road

This street honors Charles B. Rumble, who lived in the area most of his life. Originally from Illinois, he settled in Stanislaus County for approximately three decades. The street was initially known as Walnut but was renamed Rumble Road following Rumble’s passing in 1946. His son, Charles J. Rumble, was a farmer.