One Room Schoolhouses
By Darrell Beck

Earl School: 1897 - New Earl School built in 1894. Old building near Dryer Ranch was abandoned for this one. Left to right: H.P. Sloan, old time resident and visitor, Boy (unknown), Florence Peirce Stockton, Bishop Boy, Olive Elder Pierce (teacher), two Bishop Boys, Bessie Sloan Merritt's Boy, Mr. Mellor and Freddie Mellor. The school was named for Mrs. Etchiverry's family (Earl).

As the gold rush of the 1870s began to draw gold seekers over the trails and through the canyons, some passing through the backcountry were attracted not by gold but to the climate and the soil. Thus, many began to settle into the valleys and foothills and start families and farms.

As a result of this widely dispersed growth, there became a need for schools. At the time, any district in a community having seven or more children of 5 years of age or older could organize a school district for eight grades and employ certified teachers under the Rural School System.

The first one-room schoolhouse in the vicinity of Nuevo (Ramona) was built on the Ortega-Stokes Rancho in 1881. It was on the south side of the present highway to Julian (State Route 78), on the high ground just above the Shangrila Ranch at the bend in the present highway leading out of town. The first teacher was Sampson L. Ward.

Montecito School in Ramona: 1914 - Group standing in front of school left to right: Albert Halstead, Charlie Doll, Lee Maudole, Roy Patterson, Ruby Halstead, Frank Perez, Lilia Patterson, Victoria Perez, Lillian Metherell, Lilly Talley, Fannie Mellor, Hester Metherell, Walter Metherell, Arley Maydole. Teacher: Minnie Phillips Pease. Photos courtesy of the San Diego Historical Society

Historian Rollin Peirce recalled that "children from families living west of Ballena attending were the Stokes, Warnocks, Swycaffers, Casners, Mulkins, with the Stocktons coming from San Vicente Valley." (This would be a two- to four-mile trip on foot or horseback). It was here that pioneer Al Zimmer later recalled cutting across Garnet Creek (Hatfield) and walking through several miles of brush (now called chaparral) from his home at the Big Oak Ranch on the Julian Stage Road (now Old Julian Highway) to get to school each day. He also remembered once missing two weeks of school because the creek was swollen due to a big flood.

The first schoolhouse burned in the 1880s and was replaced by a frame schoolhouse north of the Stokes ranch house now known as Schoolhouse Road, at the site of two palm trees today. This school was called the Santa Maria (Goose Valley) District. This building was moved several times, once to the present elementary school site on D Street, then to its present location on 11th Street, now a residence.

The Spring Hill District schoolhouse was built in the late 1880s on the east side of the present Sutherland Dam Road, where only the bell tower remains. Mrs. Alvin Rotanzi and Harriet Brown were teachers there in the early days. Ramona resident, Herb Walters walked several miles through brushy trails to get to school from his home near Black Canyon Road and recalls that Mrs. Current was teaching there when the school was closed in 1943. The Nuevo School District's brick schoolhouse was built in 1888 on the southwest corner at Eighth and D streets. The old 1888 school was later used as a cafeteria and storage room until it was razed about 1955.

Other one room schoolhouses of that era included the Earl School of 1889, now a residence on Mussey Grade. One of the first teachers there was Olive (Elder) Peirce. The Montecito School was located on the Montecito Ranch at the west end of Montecito Way. Only a distressed palm tree remains at the site. The Viego School was located near the head of Pamo Road at the north end of the valley and further down the road into Pamo Valley, the Almond School was built to accommodate the families in Pamo.

Other backcountry one-room schoolhouses that were built in the 1880s and 1890s were the Witch Creek School at Witch Creek east of Ramona that was moved to Julian where it was used as a library for many years and is now the site of the Historical Society. Others include, the Rosebury School on Littlepage Road (now a residence), the Bloomdale School on Mesa Grande Road and the Vineyard School that was located in Boden Canyon.

There were three, one-room schoolhouses built in San Pasqual Valley. One (now gone) was located in the middle of the valley south of old San Pasqual Road, another was situated at the east end of the valley near the Golden Rule Bindery (recently moved to another location) and the only adobe one-room school house remaining is sited near Bandy Canyon. It was built in 1882 and restored in 1944 (now in a state of arrested decay).

Another one-room schoolhouse that still remains as a residence is located in the heart of Ballena Valley on the north side of State Highway 78. It was here that young Elizabeth Harper recalled that while trying to cross the pasture she had to run from rock pile to rock pile while being chased by a troublesome herd of wild ponies on her way to school each day.

Darrell Beck is the author of "On Memory's Back Trail: A Story History of Ramona and the Backcountry of San Diego County." For information about the book, contact the author at 760-789-2534