Merced Mysteries & Minutia: The namesake of Bob Hart Square

Get ready for a mini history lesson.

The question for this week’s column was generated in none other than the Merced Sun-Star newsroom. We were talking about a place well-known to Merced residents, one some people might drive by every day or stop at to grab a bite to eat – Bob Hart Square.

Located in the heart of downtown Merced, Bob Hart Square is right outside Five Ten Bistro and Pinocchio’s on Main Street. Lots of public events and activities happen there.

That begs the question:

Q: Who was Bob Hart?

A: Robert L. Hart was born Aug. 8, 1924, in Oklahoma, according to Sarah Lim, director of the Merced County Courthouse Museum.

It’s unclear when exactly he moved to Merced, but he graduated from Merced schools, according to Sun-Star archives.

On March 22, 1976, Hart was appointed to the Merced City Council to fulfill the term of Lester “Les” Yoshida, who resigned. His appointment was approved on a 4- 2 vote.

He was 51 at the time and lived in Merced for more than 40 years.

When he was appointed to the council, then-Mayor William “Pat” Quigley said Hart had an “impressive record of public service.”

That record included being named “Man of the Year” in 1966 by the Merced Chamber of Commerce, serving eight years on the planning commission, serving as a board member and president of the Kiwanis Club of Greater Merced, a board member and treasurer of Merced United Way, and a member and past president of the Merced Chamber of Commerce and the Central California Band Review.

Hart also served in the U.S. Navy during World War II and the Korean War.

At the time he was appointed to the City Council, Hart said he was a fourth-generation descendant of John Hart of New Jersey, one of the 51 signers of the Declaration of Independence.

Hart’s career was in life insurance.

Hart was elected to a four-year term on the council in 1977 and became mayor in 1979.

Hart resigned as the city’s top public official on May 4,1981, for personal plans, business and health considerations, Sun-Star archives said. The council appointed Kenneth Hayes to fill Hart’s council seat.

Hart died in Merced on Aug. 10, 1983, just two days after his 59th birthday.

Less than one year later, in March 1984, the Merced City Council voted to rename the Merced Main Street Square to Bob Hart Square in the former mayor’s memory. In the following years, the Redevelopment Agency focused efforts on the square.

This information merely is a snapshot of Bob Hart’s involvement in the community.

It seems that though one of the most popular places in town is named after him, most don’t know much about the square’s namesake.

Lim was able to provide me with basic details about Bob Hart.

Not many details were available from City Hall. Hart’s photo is among photos of past Merced mayors lining the walls near the entrance of the council chambers at the Merced Civic Center.

As for Bob Hart Square, not many city documents are left since the state dissolved redevelopment agencies, said John Tresidder, the city’s interim assistant city clerk.

Even though this column may not provide insight to the kind of man Bob Hart was, maybe it will at least get some people thinking. And maybe some minds will linger on the square, the man it was named after and his service to Merced. Maybe Bob Hart won’t be forgotten after all these years.

This story was originally published November 15, 2015 at 4:00 PM with the headline "Merced Mysteries & Minutia: The namesake of Bob Hart Square."