Go To School
HISTORY
The Oldest Standing One-Room Schoolhouse in Santa Barbara County
In 1867 pioneering families arrived in Grangeville, now Santa Maria, and recognized the need for a schoolhouse. G.W. Battles was delegated to prepare a petition for authorities in Santa Barbara. Although every settler signed the paper, their application for county help was denied! What were they to do? Thus began the saga of the first school in the Santa Maria Valley.
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Armed with plenty of courage, the pioneer fathers eventually outlined the valley as the school district, found funding to build a schoolhouse, and hired schoolmaster Joel Miller, paying him a salary for a full year. The small, budding community of Grangeville was finally declared a legitimate district.
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Redwood lumber for the school arrived by ship at Avila Beach, and then was hauled by 8-horse teams to the original site (now a part of Allan Hancock College campus). Since there were no roads in those days, everyone made “his own roads wherever the going was best.” The building was completed in approximately three days, with the exception of the ceiling which was added two years later in 1871. The entire cost: $510.00!
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When the school first opened, students sat on benches lined up against the walls. The children read from Bibles and foreign language books brought from home. By late 1870, students were able to read from textbooks such as Wilson’s Readers and Spelling Books and Robinson’s Arithmatic. (Today in the school, you can view some of the original books, ledgers, attendance records, composition books, and an all grades report on Alaska).
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In 1874, Pleasant Valley School was pulled by teams of horses one mile south. This location is the present day Enos Ranch, at the corner of Battles and Bradley Roads, near Costco. A 12-foot addition was made during this period to the back end of the school. The building also served as a venue for community events (dances were not permitted), and nondenominational religious services. Between the years 1890 and 1900, a 6-foot addition was added, creating the two anti-rooms and the vestibule in the front of the school. This Santa Barbara County pioneer redwood Victorian depicts a significant architectural expression of early rural schoolhouse design and construction. In the 1890’s, elegant Eastlake and Queen Anne details were added, as can be seen on the bell tower and vestibule entrance.
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The last teacher of Pleasant Valley School was a young beloved redhead, Thelma Chamberlain Battles, who taught the honored guests attending the ceremony today! She taught 8 grades at the school from 1930 to 1935, when Pleasant Valley School closed. Thelma delighted in the knowledge that her school was being restored at long last! At the age of 102, she died just last year. As of this printing, the names of Thelma’s students returning to the old school today are: Ervin Hartman, Alfred Nunes, Elsie Nunes Periera and Arthur Rodrigues.
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Eventually, Dr. Roger Ikola bought the schoolhouse for a “Pioneer Park”, which never materialized. No longer does Pleasant Valley School sit forgotten by the highway under the threat of demolition crews. Instead she has found a new home and a bright future just down the road. Welcome to Rancho La Purisima, Pleasant Valley School, and congratulations on being awarded a designated Santa Barbara County Building of Historic Merit, as proclaimed by the County Historic Landmarks Advisory Commission and the Board of Supervisors.
THE
EXPERIENCE
A Living History Day Experience
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Dressed in an authentic period costume, you will climb the gently sloping pasture to the historic 141 year-old Pleasant Valley School, now nestled in the hills within the Santa Ynez Valley. The original bell, rung by the school marm, Mrs. McEnroe, will beckon you to hurry along, as you know that punctuality is paramount in terms of proper deportment. The boys line up on one side of the school entrance, the girls on the other, before depositing tin lunch pails into the designated anti-rooms.
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Once outside again, the Pledge of Allegiance is recited to the flag featuring 37 stars (1869 time-frame). A patriotic song is then sung in unison before attendance is taken. You re-enter the one-room schoolhouse through the two anti-rooms and “make your manners” to the teacher before taking a seat at the old wooden desks. The lessons begin and incorporate your current curriculum, but in an 1890’s style of teaching. Antique slateboards, white chalk, and hand-stitched cloths (used to erase), are used in Spelling, Vocabulary, “Arithmatic” and Writing lessons. Original McGuffy Readers provide the basis of decoding, literature, and comprehension. Vintage indoor games serve as “brain-breaks”, and practiced recitations are presented on the teacher’s stage.
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Before lunch is enjoyed outside in view of the San Rafael and Santa Ynez Mountain Ranges, the authentic outhouse is visited. Cattle and horses watch you as you operate an old hand-pump to wash your hands before lunch. Fresh water is served from pails and ladles to compliment your sandwiches, fresh fruit, and kettlecorn. Time for running and playing now! Games from the past are played on the grassy hillside in front of the old schoolhouse before it is time to resume the last lessons of the day inside the oldest, wooden, still-standing one-room schoolhouse in Santa Barbara County! As the sun begins its descent over the Purisima Hills, you prepare to walk back down the field to home. The ringing of the bell, the signal that another school day has ended, accompanies you on your journey through time as you depart the bygone era of the Pleasant Valley Schoolhouse.
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School Field Trips: Grades 1-8 from September-November and March-June.
THE AGENDA
The Living History Day Agenda
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10:30 A.M. Students arrive and walk up cow pasture to the schoolhouse as the teacher rings the original bell to greet them.
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10:35A.M. Lunch tins are placed on benches in the anti-rooms. (Boy’s room is on left; girl’s room is on right facing the schoolhouse).
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10:40 A.M. The Pledge of Allegiance is recited and a pre- practiced patriotic song is sung by all outside at old flagpole.
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10:45 A.M. Two lines are formed outside and students file into the schoolhouse, two at a time, to “make their manners” to the teacher before taking their seats at the old desks. (Boys on left; girls on right side of room).
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10:50 A.M. Classes begin! Students solve the riddle written on the large slate board. Answers are written in chalk on individual slate boards placed on desks. Children always stand to answer a question, addressing the teacher.
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10:55A.M. Arithmetic problems are configured on slate boards.
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11:10 A.M. Recitation time! Half of the students recite their practiced recitations on the teacher’s stage. Each child asks several questions about his/her selection and calls upon another fellow student to answer them.
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11:30 A.M. Brain Break! An old-fashioned inside relay game is played in two separate lines providing lots of movement and fun!
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11:40 A.M. Recitations are completed on stage.
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11:55 A.M. The authentic outhouse and antique hand-pump are visited before lunch outside. Kettlecorn, apples, and water ladled from buckets are provided. After lunch, children are free to run, roll down grassy slopes, and play an organized game of tag, all in view of ranch cattle, cowboys, and cowdogs!
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12:35P.M. Vocabulary words are acted out by students on the stage in a charades format and answers put on individual slates.
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1:00P.M. Original McGuffy Readers provide the reading material. Students pair up and read to one another from these charming pages.
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1:15 P.M. Spelling Bee Time! Teams line up on two sides of the room to battle it out! Last student left standing wins the coveted old coin necklace.
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1:30 P.M. Circle time wrap-up means the end of the school day. Students politely listen to one another talk about what they learned, enjoyed, or will never forget about their experience at the 1869 Pleasant Valley Schoolhouse.
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1:45 P.M. Students pick up their lunch tins outside, form two lines, “make their manners” to the teacher, and say goodbye. As the bell is rung one more time, the children make their way down the hill “home”.
Student and
Teacher
Preparation
Teacher and Student Preparations for a Living History Day Field Trip
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​Students:
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Practice a patriotic song to sing after the pledge.
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Choose and memorize a short poem or verse for the recitation to be presented on the stage, and be prepared to ask 2 questions about your selection.
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Choose and try on a costume. Boots are preferred, but any type of dark shoe is permissible. Girls should braid their hair and tie with ribbons.
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Pack a lunch in the supplied tin pail. Water will be provided. Dessert—-made by room mothers.
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Make name tags to wear like a necklace high on the chest.
Teacher: (E-mail Tina McEnroe several days before field trip)
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Provide 5 vocabulary words from week’s lesson. (These will be acted out by students.)
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Provide spelling list of the week, plus 20 additional challenging words for the spelling bee.
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Provide 5 math problems to be solved on slate boards.
