History of Bear Valley School

The original Bear Valley School was built of redwood in the fall of 1873 and received its first students in January of 1874, with P. Troy as teacher. The school was built on the ranch of Dr. Americus W. Powers, the region’s first physician, and the doctor eventually deeded the school and its surrounding acreage to the Bear Valley School District for the sum of $1*

By the late 1890s the community had grown, and the residents built the present schoolhouse, much larger than the first, some time in that decade.  They continued to use the old redwood schoolhouse for Sunday school for several years, and then dismantled it to build a storage shed back of the new building for school supplies and stove wood.

During the school’s first 25 years, students attended as long as they were allowed free time from work or until they were taught all the teacher knew.  In 1899, the San Benito County Board of Education sent out tests that would confer the status of “graduate” on anyone who passed.  The Class of 1899 – Bear Valley School’s first – included Guy Hooton, Tom Melendy, Wilfred Greenwood, Lucretia Melendy, and Sadie Hain.  

Eventually, the population of the surrounding region shrank.  Other schools in the area – including La Gloria, Willow Creek,

Columbus and Pine Rock – closed their doors and their students attended Bear Valley.   In 1952, the Bear Valley School district itself merged with the Jefferson School district, and the old Bear Valley schoolhouse began a new chapter in its long life.  It became a vibrant and beloved community center, where residents voted in state and county elections, and attended Farm Bureau and 4-H meetings, card parties, Home Department meetings, family gatherings and reunions.

Between 1874 and 1952 the Bear Valley School graduated an estimated 500 students, a number of whom still reside in San Benito County.  A much greater number have living memories of community gatherings held there. 

The trustees of the Jefferson School district closed the Bear Valley School to the public in about 2002. 

--This narrative is based on a history of Bear Valley School written by graduate Grace Butterfield Bacon Robinson in about 1985.

 * The original deed for the Bear Valley School