The Oakland’s First School House

When Oakland became a city in 1852, there was no free public school. There was a private school at the corner of 2nd and Broadway run by Mrs. Monroe.

The town trustees saw the need for a school, so they rented a room at the rear of a dance hall called a Fandango House at 2nd and Washington. The room was furnished with half a dozen wooden benches, a table for the teacher, a blackboard, a map of the world, and a rawhide whip. 12 to 15 children attended this school.

Horace W. Carpentier donated a school building to the city in exchange for (control of)the area around the harbor. Oxen teams from the hills brought redwood lumber, and a small structure was erected at 4th and Clay Streets. It was 30 x 20 feet with a 12-foot ceiling and a shingled roof. A belfry with a little bell. Carpentier described the building as “substantial, elegant, and commodious.”

In June of 1853, when the school opened, the citizens held a parade, and 16 students carried a banner that read, “Our Duty to Our Country, First, Last, and Always.”

The first teacher of the school was Miss Hannah Jayne. She taught until 1856, when she resigned to marry Edson Adams, one of Oakland’s pioneers.

In 1853, the First Presbyterian Church used the building for services. The church’s current sanctuary (built-in 1914) memorializes the schoolhouse in one of its stained glass windows showing church history.

By 1855 there were 155 children of school age in Oakland. The little schoolhouse could not house them all. The old Carpentier school was replaced by a slightly larger building between Jefferson and Grove ( now Martin Luther King) on 11th and 12th Streets.

The city continued to grow, and so did the need for schools. By 1873 there were 13 buildings with more than 2000 children receiving instruction. By 1875 there were 3,225 attending school, increasing by 1000 in 2 years.

First A.M.E. Church

The First A.M.E. Church of Oakland began in 1858 by a small group of Oakland residents and is the oldest African American church in Oakland. The church founders purchased the Carpenter School House in 1863, which became the first church building.

According to the article below, the building was still there in 1921

In 1943 the school district celebrated its 90th Anniversary with nearly 2000 teachers and 75 schools with almost 45,000 students.

More Info:

• The First Schoolhouse – Oakland Local Wiki
• Oakland’s First Schoolhouse – Oakland Tribune May 26, 1918
• Know Your Schools 90th Anniversary – Oakland Tribune Sep 12, 1943
• Oakland’s First School Bell – Pt 1 –Oakland Tribune Feb 08, 1970
• Oakland’s First School Bell – Pt 2 – Oakland Tribune Feb 08, 1970

The End