Butte County CA Archives History - Books .....Schools In Oregon Township 1882 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/ca/cafiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com January 28, 2006, 8:28 pm Book Title: History Of Butte County SCHOOLS IN OREGON TOWNSHIP. We have already seen how that in the beginning all of Oregon township was one school district. It was called Oregon School District No. 1. The school-house stood to the west of the mountain ridge, back of the Pence Hotel, from whence it was afterwards moved and rebuilt near the road-side leading from Pence's ranch to Oroville, half way between Pence's ranch and Dry creek bridge, at the ranch of E. J. Davis. The name afterwards taken and now held is Messila Valley district. MESSILA VALLEY DISTRICT.—In 1872, this district voted a tax for building purposes. The result was a large and excellent school-house, located near the road-side, midway between Pence's ranch and the ranch of E. J. Davis, at the crossing of Dry creek. During the summer of 1879 this building was removed to the present site, near the lumber-dump, a half-mile east of Pence's ranch, where a village is springing up. Mrs. L. A. B. Curtiss, an accomplished lady, has been the "stand-by" teacher in this district, having first taught three years, and having been since twice recalled to the place, after teaching, in choice places elsewhere. The school has always been classed as one of the best in the county. OREGON CITY DISTRICT was set off as No. 2, May 8, 1858, and included also Cherokee district. For several years the name of the district was Franklin. The district has one of the best school-houses in the county, beautifully situated and well furnished and fitted. A good school has always been maintained. CHEROKEE DISTRICT was formed August 10, 1861, being separated from Oregon City by a line along the divide between Oregon gulch and Saw-mill ravine. The first teacher was Thos. L. Vintin, who taught a number of successive terms, and the school was quite flourishing from the beginning. The district has had good management at the hands of the trustees. The building has two stories, and stands on an eminence which commands a view of almost the entire county. Its white surface is distinctly seen from the cupola of the school-house in Chico. There has been for years past a lack of room for the schools. In 1880, the district voted a tax, and built, at a cost of $1,400, a commodious and elegant room for the department taught by Miss Magnolia Wood. But again in 1881, when a fourth department was opened, Miss Ryan's department was compelled to occupy a rented room. The excellence of the Cherokee school has been for years past proven by the number of its graduates who have received certificates to teach. The same remark is true of Oroville, Wyandotte and Chico, from which schools nearly all the teachers have come. RIO SECO DISTRICT was formed November 15, 1859. This was repeated a year later, when Hamilton township was subdivided. This is one of the oldest districts, and has suffered the usual vicissitudes from the cutting-off of its territory to form new districts. The school is still maintained at or near the original location. The house is getting quite old, but has been repaired frequently. Being 011 the road and distant from any dwelling, it affords shelter to campers and tramps. Several years ago some one made a target of the globe, and succeeded in sending a bullet through it. The library has suffered so much from depredations as to be almost destroyed. The trustees, a year ago, purchased new patent furniture and some apparatus. STONEMAN DISTRICT was formed May 9, 1863, out of the west half of Messila valley district. On the third of March, 1869, the people of Butte valley district petitioned for and obtained from the board of supervisors a cession of a large space of territory on the east of Butte creek, to be taken from Stone-man and given to Butte valley district. On the tenth of February, 1870, the people of Stoneman district, having rallied in their strength, obtained an .order from the supervisors returning the same territory to Stoneman district. There has been, on the part of the people to the west of the school-house, for years, a state of dissatisfaction with its location. In the spring of 1880, just before school was to open again in the old building, which was almost fallen to pieces of age and the inferiority of its first construction, the old house mysteriously took fire and burned. There was no insurance on it. It was not worth insuring. The trustees at once determined to change the location to a more central point, which they did, and built the present large and substantial school-house, without calling on the district for a tax. Because of frequent changes of teachers, the school has not been until recently in very good condition, but it now has a large attendance, and is in all respects prosperous. MORRIS RAVINE DISTRICT was formed November 13, 1863. The first trustees were E. M. Sparks, who then lived near and owned in the famous Banner mine; J. B. Thomas, afterwards superintendent, and Frank Peters, who has been trustee through all these years, and still holds the office. The first census report showed 16 children in the district. The district is small but pleasantly situated, and maintains a little school of about twelve pupils in a neat little house, well furnished. COTTONWOOD DISTRICT was formed March 28, 1872, out of territory taken from Rio Seco and Eureka. The school-house is large and uncomely, but nicely furnished. The school has been generally well attended, but has never attained a high grade of excellence. NELSON DISTRICT was formed September 10, 1873, and embraced all the territory in Oregon township between Dry creek and Butte creek. The school-house, a very good one and nicely furnished, was built on a location, then central, about two miles southwest of the residence of Captain A. D. Nelson, after whom the district was named. After the formation of the Dockery district, embracing all the country around the town of Nelson, the line run near the school-house, thus leaving it near to one side. So, in 1879, the trustees decided to move the house to the centre of the district, which they did, and rebuilt it in a more substantial manner than before. The school is quite small. DOCKERY DISTRICT was formed March 26, 1877, embracing all the territory around the town of Nelson. The trustees immediately extemporized a building for school purposes, and took steps to erect a suitable school building. For this purpose a tax was voted to raise $3,000, and the collection went forward successfully, until Mr. G. W. Gridley was called on. Mr. Gridley owned nearly all the land in the district, but resided nearly twenty miles away. He was willing to pay a considerable sum to erect a school-house, but not willing to be taxed for so large a share of the expense. He therefore resisted the tax, and through some informality in the proceedings succeeded in upsetting all that had been done. So the money already collected was refunded to the payers. "When the legislature met during the following winter, the trustees employed an attorney and had a bill passed authorizing the district to issue bonds for building purposes in the sum of $10,000, the bonds to be redeemed within twenty years. Mr. Gridley found it impossible to resist, and the bonds were issued and taken by a San Francisco capitalist. During the spring and summer of 1878, a large and handsome school-building was erected at a cost of near $9,000, and from year to year a regular tax is levied to redeem the bonds. The school has steadily grown in number and efficiency. WILLOWS DISTRICT was formed July 3, 1879. Its territory lies principally in the triangle formed by Dry creek and the roads which diverge at Wick's ranch and lead to Pence's ranch and Chico. A very neat school-house has been built and furnished with the best style of desks. Additional Comments: Extracted from: HISTORY OF BUTTE COUNTY, CALIFORNIA, IN TWO VOLUMES. I. HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA FROM 1513 TO 1850. BY FRANK T. GILBERT. The Great Fur Companies and their Trapping Expeditions to California. Settlement of the Sacramento Valley. The Discovery of Gold in California. BY HARRY L. WELLS. II. HISTORY OF BUTTE COUNTY, From its Earliest Settlement to the Present Time. BY HARRY L. WELLS AND W. L. CHAMBERS. BOTH VOLUMES ILLUSTRATED WITH VIEWS AND PORTRAITS. HARRY L. WELLS, 517 CLAY STREET, SAN FRANCISCO 1882. Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1882, by HARRY L. WELLS, in the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D. C. FRANCIS, VALENTINE & Co., Engravers & Printers 517 Clay St., San Francisco File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ca/butte/history/1882/historyo/schoolsi319ms.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.poppet.org/cafiles/ File size: 9.1 Kb