The Healdsburg Museum and Historical Society’s newest exhibition “School Days Then and Now” will appeal to everyone, young and old, residents and visitors. The area’s first schools, beginning in 1858 were all privately financed. Not until 1871 was there a public school in Healdsburg.
One room school houses, located about three miles apart, were the norm well into the 20th Century. The school term was a mere three months in spring and summer because roads were impassable in winter and students were needed at home much of the year. Even through the 1950s, school sessions were scheduled to meet the needs of an agricultural economy.
The exhibition is unique in uncovering the layers of Healdsburg’s history by focusing on education. Did you ever wonder why the city has University and College streets, but no university or college? There are explanations for both. See what now occupies the former college dorm and Healdsburg College.
The history of local education also reveals the importance of Healdsburg as the historic home of the Seventh Day Adventist Church where its pioneer founders lived, preached, wrote, built their first church in 1871 and established Healdsburg College in 1882. At that time one in five Healdsburg residents were Adventists.
Don’t miss Jon Lacaillade’s architectural scale models of school buildings and the Healdsburg Plaza in 1900, populated with lifelike miniatures created by Maggie Bates. See the side by side comparisons of 1906 and 2016 classrooms.
“School Days Then and Now” is open to the public Wednesdays through Sundays, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. until Nov. 13 at the Healdsburg Museum, 221 Matheson Street. Admission is always free. During the exhibition, special tours and viewings will be available for local school groups. For more information, call 431-3325.
– Submitted by Ronnie Devitt
