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William Hayward (b. August 31, 1815 in Hopkinton, Massachusetts; d. 1891) was the man after whom the city of Hayward, California was named. William grew up on his father’s farm, where he was born. In 1836 he proceeded to Georgetown, Massachusetts, and finding employment in a shoe factory there, remained about ten years. In 1838, William married Louisa Bartlett, who died in 1840, leaving one daughter.

Learning of the 1848 discovery of gold in California, William booked passage on the steamer Unicorn which sailed on April 23, 1849, steamed through the Strait of Magellan, and arrived in San Francisco on August 31, 1849. Proceeding to the gold fields, he "mined as long as his money lasted" and then returned to the San Francisco Bay Area, a disappointed gold seeker.

For a while, William squatted on Guillermo Castro's ranch, in Palomares Canyon (37°41′16.8″N, 122°1′12″W). Castro tried to evict him, but William persuaded him otherwise by making him a pair of boots. His stubbornness and shoe-making ability convinced Castro to hire him.

William set up a small store and saved up enough money to buy 40 acres of Castro's land including what is now the downtown Hayward area. On this land, he established a store and a small dairy operation. This land was along the road that ran from San Jose to Oakland (now called Mission Boulevard).

Castro emigrated to Chile with most of his family in 1864, after he lost his land in a card game. His ranch was split up and sold to various locals, William among them. He constructed a resort hotel on what is now the corner of Main and A Streets, which eventually grew to a hundred rooms. The surrounding area came to be called "Haywards" after William's hotel which bore the name "Haywards Hotel" (no apostrophe before the "s") (see photo in http://www.haywardareahistory.org/haywardhistory.html).

On April 5, 1866, William married Mrs. Rachael Bedford in Haywards.

Haywards Hotel became a destination for travelers and tourists. It grew to be two stories. Inside the grand building was a large lobby, reception rooms, dining halls, and sitting and card rooms. The hotel also served as a post office. The main force behind the success of Haywards Hotel wasn't William Hayward, but his wife Rachel, who arranged and managed parties, receptions, picnics, rides, and entertainment for guests.

William then became the road commissioner for Alameda County. He used his authority to influence the construction of roads in his own favor. In 1876, the town was chartered under the name of "Haywards". However, it was not legal to name a post office after a living person, so the official name was "Haywood". In 1876, "Haywood" was incorporated as the "Town of Haywards", with a population of 1,100.

William served two terms on the Alameda County Board of Supervisors.

William and Rachel had two children, Mary E. Hayward and William M. Hayward.

William Hayward died in 1891.

In 1894, the "s" in "Haywards" was dropped and on September 18, 1928, the city's name was changed to the "City of Hayward."

• http://www.calarchives4u.com/Biographies/alameda/alam-hayw2.htm 1876 biography of William Hayward from the Centennial Yearbook of Alameda County, California
• http://www.calarchives4u.com/Biographies/alameda/alam-hayw.htm 1883 biography of William Hayward from the History of Alameda County, California
• http://www.haywardareahistory.org/haywardhistory.html
• http://www.rootsweb.com/~cenfiles/ca/alameda/1870/notes.txt
• http://citybloc.com/California/Hayward
• http://www.hayward-ca.gov/about/history.shtm
• http://www.powells.com/biblio?isbn=0738529478