Volume 010-2 - April 1956 (2 pages)

Markwell School on the McCourtney Road was named Spenceville. However, when they changed the name of the original school was named Markweil from a man who lived for a few years near the school and sent his children to school there, This school was opened in 1876. The first teacher was a lady. name unknown, but she was followed by M. P. Stone. Later Elam Biggs, father of Harold Biggs of Grass Valley. taught in this school. There was not much that could be learned about Truckee School, east of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, though it was probably one of the earliest in the county, re®Srds, though incomplete, say 1868. Boca School was started in 1872. It was named for the town of Boca. so called from the Spanish word meaning “mouth,” because the Little Truckee River enters the main Truckee River at this point. School was held there continuously until 1940, when it lapsed for lack of pupils. In 1872 there were twenty-five pupils attending. When the ice companies no longer harvested ice from the ponds near Boca, the employees moved away. Mrs, Evelyn Bennetts was the last teacher. Floriston School was established in 1900, for the children of workers in the Floriston paper mills, which were owned by the Crown Willamette Paper Company. The school closed when the paper mill was closed. owing to complaints from the people of Reno that the water in the Truckee River, which was used for household purposes in Reno, was contaminated by the chemicals used at the Floriston paper mills. The two-room school at Hobart Mills, named Overton in honor of J. B. Overton, a partner of W. S. Hobart in organizing the Sierra Wood and Lumber Company, was built in 1896 and attended by the children of workers in the lumber mills. It, too, went out of existence about 1950 after the mills closed. Miss Bliss McGlashan was the first teacher. At present all pupils east of the Sierras are under contract with Placer County. Blue Tent got its name from the first trading post there, which was a tent made of blue cloth. The first school wabuilt in 1862, located about 600 feet from Blue Tent Reservoir. The first teacher was Mrs. Ramboe. Later the school was moved to its present site. Most of the lumber in the new school came from the old one. Miss Gertrude Goyne was the first teach in the new school, At one time there were schools at Allison Ranch, from 1868 to 1922; Altamont, begun in 1865, Bear River 1868, Blue Tent 1862 and new school in 1868, Banner 1877, Boca 1872, Birchville 1868, Chalk Biuff 1868, Cherokee 1868, Clear Creek 1868, Chicago Park 1897, Columbia Hill 1868, Central, Eureka 1868, Floriston 1900, Forest Springs, French Corral 1868, Gaston 1904, Greeley 1872, Graniteville 1868, Lime Kiln, Lowell Hill, Liberty Hill 1868, Little York, Indian Springs 1868, Indian Flat 1897, Iron Mountain, Lake City 1868, Kentucky Flat 1868, North Bloomfield, Red Dog, Magnolia 1876, Mariposa 1882, Markwe!! 1876, Maybert 1868, Mooney Fiat 1868. Moore’s Flat, Montezuma Hil] 1885 (made from San Juan and Cherokee in 1905), Pleasant Valley, Newtown 1855. North San Juan 1857, North Star. Oakland, Overton, Pleasant Ridge, Quaker Hil), Relief Hill, Scott’s Flat 1909, Sebastopol 1872. Selby Flat 1862. Spence. ville 1868, Sweetland 1868. Truckee 1858, Union Hill, 1868, Washington 1868, Willow Valley 1868, Wolf 1891, as well as Meadow Lake Union High 1900, and the primary, grammar and high schools of Nevada City and Grass Valley. All combined, there were at one time seventy-three schools in Nevada County. Some of this material may be erroneous, but historians differ as to beginnings and endings, so I pray the readers’ indulgence if he finds some faults. —Clara A. Weeks. Source Material: “Sierra Nevada Lakes” by George and Bliss Hinkle, “History of Nevada County” by Brock and Lardner, Bean's Directory, W. W. Ferrier's “Ninty Years of Education in California.’ Mr. Fred Brandt, Miss Georgie Donnelly, Miss Virginia Augustine, Miss Elizabeth Garland, Grass Valley “Union.” One dollar per year, regardless of where you live, entitles you to to full membership and each issue of the Historical Bulletin. Nevada County Historical Society APRIL, 1956 VOL. 10, No. 2 Barly Schools of Nevada County By CLARA A. WEEKS The first schools that were established in Nevada County were necessarily private and were conducted through contributions or tuition paid by the parents who were interested in giving their children at least some education. We read in W. W. Ferrier’s “Ninety Years of Education in California” that “Mrs. Sarah Royce, who was the mother of Josiah Royce and his sisters,” conducted such a school in which she gave her children and some others in the neighborhood an excellent educational foundation. One of the first private schools in Grass Valley was opened in 1851 by Miss Rosanna Farrington in a little building on Mill Street. Later there was Miss Coleman’s private school on Main Street, near the gas works (now the site of the Union Service Station), and Miss Rider’s school on Main Street. Later Miss Rider built a home on the southwest corner of Richardson and School Streets and conducted her school there. Miss Aldersey had a school in the family residence near the Gold Hill Mine, and there was Miss Harvey's Select School on School Street. Miss Lizzie Horan, Miss Annie Spencer, and Miss Jones also conducted schools for the little ones, These began about 1876 or perhaps a little earlier. Later Miss Laura Freeman had a school near Freeman's Bakery. In 1851, in Nevada City, a private school was opened by Mrs. Sampson in a little building on Broad Street where the Methodist Church was later located. Out of fifteen or twenty families in the approximate area, only twenty children attended school. Nevada City also had a school on Boulder Street taught by Mrs. C. Hibbard. There was also Miss Olive Litchfield’s School, located at the junction of East and West Broad Streets. Here she taught English, modern languages, and music. : Attached to what is now St. Canice Church was a Catholic school which had sixty-five pupils, taught by Mr. J. C. Robinson, with the assistance of Miss Flora Cornell. In 1852 the Reverend Father Dalton founded St. Mary’s Academy in Grass Valley. It was first located at the northeast corner of Church Street, where is now the old Catholic Cemetery. Then in 1865 the brick building which still houses a part of the school, was built on the west side of Church Street, north of the church. The first dean of the faculty was Sister Mary Gabriel, who was brought here from Ireland for. that purpose. There were at times about one nundred fifty pupils in the girls’ school. Here was taught not only the common school subjects, but languages, music, painting, embroidery, etc. The school vecupied four acres of beautifully landscaped ground. There was also a boys’ school of eight acres on a separate lot, having about eighty boys in attendance. Some of the pupils in both schools were ,oca] children while others were boarders, and some were orphans brought here from different parts of the diocese of Northern California to be raised and educated by the kindly Sisters of Mercy. In 1853 or 1854 the first public school was opened in Nevada City. On December 6, 1853, the ladies of the community gave a banquet, the proceeds of which were to be devoted to the building of a public schoolhouse. Liberal subscriptions by the citizens were added to this . fund, and a schoolhouse was built where the Episcopal Church now stands. Later, in 1859, when the number of pupils increased, the lot back of the Washington School was purchased, and a building 28 feet by 30 feet erected. The lot and building cost $2,911.02, of which $1,019.78 was donated by the Relief Committee, it being the residue remaining in the Relief Fund. In Grass Valley the first public school There were also schools in Nevada City and Grass Valley at a very early date for colored children. The colored people operated their own schools. was opened in 1853. Then in 1866 theo first high school was erected on four =—— acres of ground on School Street at a cost of $5,000. This building also housed President, Sven Skaar, Nevada City Rec. Sec. Mrs. Andy Rogers, Rough and Ready Cor. Sec., Mrs. George Becraft, Nevada City Treasurer, Charles Buck, Nevada City

Markwell School on the McCourtney Road was named Spenceville. However, when they changed the name of the original school was named Markweil from a man who lived for a few years near the school and sent his children to school there, This school was opened in 1876. The first teacher was a lady. name unknown, but she was followed by M. P. Stone. Later Elam Biggs, father of Harold Biggs of Grass Valley. taught in this school. There was not much that could be learned about Truckee School, east of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, though it was probably one of the earliest in the county, re®Srds, though incomplete, say 1868. Boca School was started in 1872. It was named for the town of Boca. so called from the Spanish word meaning “mouth,” because the Little Truckee River enters the main Truckee River at this point. School was held there continuously until 1940, when it lapsed for lack of pupils. In 1872 there were twenty-five pupils attending. When the ice companies no longer harvested ice from the ponds near Boca, the employees moved away. Mrs, Evelyn Bennetts was the last teacher. Floriston School was established in 1900, for the children of workers in the Floriston paper mills, which were owned by the Crown Willamette Paper Company. The school closed when the paper mill was closed. owing to complaints from the people of Reno that the water in the Truckee River, which was used for household purposes in Reno, was contaminated by the chemicals used at the Floriston paper mills. The two-room school at Hobart Mills, named Overton in honor of J. B. Overton, a partner of W. S. Hobart in organizing the Sierra Wood and Lumber Company, was built in 1896 and attended by the children of workers in the lumber mills. It, too, went out of existence about 1950 after the mills closed. Miss Bliss McGlashan was the first teacher. At present all pupils east of the Sierras are under contract with Placer County. Blue Tent got its name from the first trading post there, which was a tent made of blue cloth. The first school wabuilt in 1862, located about 600 feet from Blue Tent Reservoir. The first teacher was Mrs. Ramboe. Later the school was moved to its present site. Most of the lumber in the new school came from the old one. Miss Gertrude Goyne was the first teach in the new school, At one time there were schools at Allison Ranch, from 1868 to 1922; Altamont, begun in 1865, Bear River 1868, Blue Tent 1862 and new school in 1868, Banner 1877, Boca 1872, Birchville 1868, Chalk Biuff 1868, Cherokee 1868, Clear Creek 1868, Chicago Park 1897, Columbia Hill 1868, Central, Eureka 1868, Floriston 1900, Forest Springs, French Corral 1868, Gaston 1904, Greeley 1872, Graniteville 1868, Lime Kiln, Lowell Hill, Liberty Hill 1868, Little York, Indian Springs 1868, Indian Flat 1897, Iron Mountain, Lake City 1868, Kentucky Flat 1868, North Bloomfield, Red Dog, Magnolia 1876, Mariposa 1882, Markwe!! 1876, Maybert 1868, Mooney Fiat 1868. Moore’s Flat, Montezuma Hil] 1885 (made from San Juan and Cherokee in 1905), Pleasant Valley, Newtown 1855. North San Juan 1857, North Star. Oakland, Overton, Pleasant Ridge, Quaker Hil), Relief Hill, Scott’s Flat 1909, Sebastopol 1872. Selby Flat 1862. Spence. ville 1868, Sweetland 1868. Truckee 1858, Union Hill, 1868, Washington 1868, Willow Valley 1868, Wolf 1891, as well as Meadow Lake Union High 1900, and the primary, grammar and high schools of Nevada City and Grass Valley. All combined, there were at one time seventy-three schools in Nevada County. Some of this material may be erroneous, but historians differ as to beginnings and endings, so I pray the readers’ indulgence if he finds some faults. —Clara A. Weeks. Source Material: “Sierra Nevada Lakes” by George and Bliss Hinkle, “History of Nevada County” by Brock and Lardner, Bean's Directory, W. W. Ferrier's “Ninty Years of Education in California.’ Mr. Fred Brandt, Miss Georgie Donnelly, Miss Virginia Augustine, Miss Elizabeth Garland, Grass Valley “Union.” One dollar per year, regardless of where you live, entitles you to to full membership and each issue of the Historical Bulletin. Nevada County Historical Society APRIL, 1956 VOL. 10, No. 2 Barly Schools of Nevada County

By CLARA A. WEEKS The first schools that were established in Nevada County were necessarily private and were conducted through contributions or tuition paid by the parents who were interested in giving their children at least some education. We read in W. W. Ferrier’s “Ninety Years of Education in California” that “Mrs. Sarah Royce, who was the mother of Josiah Royce and his sisters,” conducted such a school in which she gave her children and some others in the neighborhood an excellent educational foundation. One of the first private schools in Grass Valley was opened in 1851 by Miss Rosanna Farrington in a little building on Mill Street. Later there was Miss Coleman’s private school on Main Street, near the gas works (now the site of the Union Service Station), and Miss Rider’s school on Main Street. Later Miss Rider built a home on the southwest corner of Richardson and School Streets and conducted her school there. Miss Aldersey had a school in the family residence near the Gold Hill Mine, and there was Miss Harvey's Select School on School Street. Miss Lizzie Horan, Miss Annie Spencer, and Miss Jones also conducted schools for the little ones, These began about 1876 or perhaps a little earlier. Later Miss Laura Freeman had a school near Freeman's Bakery. In 1851, in Nevada City, a private school was opened by Mrs. Sampson in a little building on Broad Street where the Methodist Church was later located. Out of fifteen or twenty families in the approximate area, only twenty children attended school. Nevada City also had a school on Boulder Street taught by Mrs. C. Hibbard. There was also Miss Olive Litchfield’s School, located at the junction of East and West Broad Streets. Here she taught English, modern languages, and music. : Attached to what is now St. Canice Church was a Catholic school which had sixty-five pupils, taught by Mr. J. C. Robinson, with the assistance of Miss Flora Cornell. In 1852 the Reverend Father Dalton founded St. Mary’s Academy in Grass Valley. It was first located at the northeast corner of Church Street, where is now the old Catholic Cemetery. Then in 1865 the brick building which still houses a part of the school, was built on the west side of Church Street, north of the church. The first dean of the faculty was Sister Mary Gabriel, who was brought here from Ireland for. that purpose. There were at times about one nundred fifty pupils in the girls’ school. Here was taught not only the common school subjects, but languages, music, painting, embroidery, etc. The school vecupied four acres of beautifully landscaped ground. There was also a boys’ school of eight acres on a separate lot, having about eighty boys in attendance. Some of the pupils in both schools were ,oca] children while others were boarders, and some were orphans brought here from different parts of the diocese of Northern California to be raised and educated by the kindly Sisters of Mercy. In 1853 or 1854 the first public school was opened in Nevada City. On December 6, 1853, the ladies of the community gave a banquet, the proceeds of which were to be devoted to the building of a public schoolhouse. Liberal subscriptions by the citizens were added to this . fund, and a schoolhouse was built where the Episcopal Church now stands. Later, in 1859, when the number of pupils increased, the lot back of the Washington School was purchased, and a building 28 feet by 30 feet erected. The lot and building cost $2,911.02, of which $1,019.78 was donated by the Relief Committee, it being the residue remaining in the Relief Fund. In Grass Valley the first public school There were also schools in Nevada City and Grass Valley at a very early date for colored children. The colored people operated their own schools. was opened in 1853. Then in 1866 theo first high school was erected on four =—— acres of ground on School Street at a cost of $5,000. This building also housed President, Sven Skaar, Nevada City Rec. Sec.. Mrs. Andy Rogers, Rough and Ready Cor. Sec., Mrs. George Becraft, Nevada City Treasurer, Charles Buck, Nevada City