As the 20th century began, the one-room schoolhouse that had served the residents of Portola Valley since 1894 was overflowing. Fifty-three children! Up from 40 in 1895.
Thus, the school board voted to build a second one-room school alongside the first. On January 23, 1909, the voters (all men since women didn’t have the vote) approved a bond to appropriate $3,500 for its construction, 20 in favor, 1 opposed. A second vote the following June raised the bond to $4,000, still 20 to 1.
This new schoolhouse would survive to allow modern-day residents to celebrate its centennial.
The board hired LeBaron Olive, a “certified” architect, to draw up plans and supervise construction. His design was Mission Revival with a twist: using wood instead of more traditional stucco, appropriate for a little country town in the redwoods. The new school had no plumbing or electricity, but it did have a battery-operated doorbell at the double-entry front door. The final cost was $3,602.11.
The new building became the primary school, and older students attended the 1894 school next door. These two one-room schoolhouses stood side by side on Portola Road from 1909 until 1950.
After World War II, the two schoolhouses were no longer adequate. Population in the valley soared and the number of students was rising rapidly: 24 in 1944, 62 in 1949, 149 in 1951, 230 in 1953, 464 in 1957. The 1894 school was dismantled to make way for the first wing of the modern Portola Valley School.
Even that was insufficient. More classrooms were necessary.
In 1954 the state granted a loan for more construction. One of the requirements of the loan was the demolition of the 1909 school. A San Mateo County official said: “I can’t call those [rooms in the old school] classrooms. I think the district and the board have a moral obligation to house the children in a safe building.”
Perhaps with some regrets about the loss of the 1894 school, the board decided to put the conditions of the loan to a vote. Those 1954 voters refused the loan and saved the school, 185 to 88.
It was then that its era as “the Little Red Schoolhouse” began. As new wings of Portola Valley School rose and accommodated the students, the school was closed in 1957. It still had service to render: the first temporary Town Hall in 1964, superintendent of schools’ office, school board meeting room, storeroom, and for 15 years it was the Valley Art Gallery, exhibition space for a consortium of local artists.
It is an official Point of Historical Interest in San Mateo County and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Drawings of its exteriors and blue prints are housed in the Library of Congress.
As it approached its 90th birthday, the Little Red Schoolhouse was showing its age. Large parts of the foundation were gone; the remainder could be crumbled away with fingers. Paint was peeling; the heating system was beyond repair. Birds lived under the roof and in holes in the siding.
Once again, residents displayed their affection for the old school. More than 400 families contributed to a fund to completely restore it and return it to its original white exterior. The first Blues and Barbecue in 1997 celebrated its completion and the community spirit that made it possible.
Nancy Lund is town historian for Portola Valley.
