April 29 Program: Tom Atchley – County Schools

The Redlands Area Historical Society ends the program season April 29 at 7:00 pm. at the Contemporary Club, 173 S. Eureka Street with a program that recalls the beginning of schools in the East San Bernardino Valley.  Tom Atchley, vice-president of the Historical Society has researched education from the very first schools in the valley.

Prior to the building of the Estancia in 1830, Pedro Alvarez taught Native Americans living at the Guachama Village rudimentary irrigation and the planting of wheat, grains and vegetables using the Mill Creek Zanja water in 1819.  Alvarez utilized the adobe grain storage building as his classroom.

Olive Tenney traveled to Los Angeles and formed the Mission District in 1853 prior to the establishment of San Bernardino County.  Her classroom consisted  of the dilapidated adobe walls of the Estancia.  Within two years the population of children seeking school grew and a new school was established west on Mission Road.  Mission District eventually had four schools.

The 1860s saw the number of school districts expand all over San Bernardino, Yucaipa, Highland and San Timoteo Canyon.  Most teachers taught without college degrees.  Many schools began in tents with only benches for seating.  The first brick building school was built in San Bernardino in 1872.  The two-room building had one room named Washington and the other called Jefferson.  Professor Ellison Robbins and his wife Eliza began teaching in 1858.  Ellison later became Superintendent of the County Schools.

Redlands District was formed in 1884 and utilized a home on West Palm for the twelve students.  Rosa Belle Robbins taught English to Native Americans in 1872 in the Cram furniture adobe in Crafton.  Rosa charged $1 per month.  The school attracted dozens of students wanting to learn English.  Rosa became the first teacher of the Redlands District.  Redlands purchased the corner of Cypress and Cajon for $300 and built a simple school on skids for easy travel to student populations. 

Atchley has collected early school photos for the last fifty years and will include these in his power point program. 

The Historical Society’s meetings are free and open to the public. The program will not be available via zoom. For further information call the Historical Society at (909) 307-4661.