Ventura County Landmark No. 9: Santa Clara Schoolhouse (aka Little Red Schoolhouse)

The “Little Red Schoolhouse”, located roughly halfway between Santa Paula and Fillmore, was built in 1896. It is of wood construction with a stone foundation built in the high-tower Colonial Revival style and was painted its distinctive red color in the early 1960s. The original blackboards used for teaching were literally blackened boards. The children used slates for all writing purposes. The teacher had a small table and kitchen chair and the children, who sat on benches, faced the wall while studying and the center of the room when reciting.

The current schoolhouse is not the first Santa Clara schoolhouse, nor is it situated in its original location. It is predated by two earlier schools: the first was opened in 1879 by farmers who had developed the area as early as 1871 (Nevada Expeditions, 2023; Henderson, 1974). In 1880, a new school was built on land donated by Henry Cook near the Santa Clara River (Nevada Expeditions, 2023; Henderson, 1974). Erastus Ransome and Homer Coffee built the new school and crafted new desks. Though, like the first school, there was no playground, students were known to play on old adobe ruins across a ravine to the east (supposedly home to one of Leo Carillo’s ancestors) (Nevada Expeditions, 2023; Henderson, 1974). Unfortunately, those ruins were washed away during heavy rains in 1884. In 1885, it was decided to move the school. J.N. Rosenberg was paid $35.00 to relocate the building to a new site across from the current schoolhouse (Nevada Expeditions, 2023; Henderson, 1974).

By 1895, proposals were made to build yet another schoolhouse (Nevada Expeditions, 2023; Henderson, 1974). After being put to vote, the new location was decided and a year later, the new schoolhouse was open with a final cost of $2,634.35. The schoolhouse, which was battleship gray until the 1960s, has continued to serve students ever since (Nevada Expeditions, 2023; Henderson, 1974). It is one of only a few one-room schoolhouses still in operation in California today.

Today, the school serves K-6 students who work together in one of the three school rooms. Much of the original character of the school and its facilities remain, although today modern equipment e.g. television, document cameras, and computers are extensively used, the school retains its historic tradition of academic excellence (Santa Clara Elementary School District, 2023).