Burnett School 1897-1922
School District covers a lot of rural land encompassing nearly 296 square miles — all the way from Coyote to San Martin .
The District was first organized in 1903 and included Highland , Burnett , San Martin , Machado and Morgan Hill schools . In 1921 , the Coyote , Llagas and Uvas districts were brought into the fold .
The first public school between San Jose and Gilroy was Burnett School , established in the small community of Madrone ( at one time called Sherman ). The land was originally owned by the Fisher family as part of their Rancho Laguna Seca . While the headquarters for the rancho was located near today ’ s Metcalf Energy Center in Coyote , a campsite for ranch hands sprung up along the El Camino Real near what would become the 18 Mile House , a stage coach , and later a railroad stop . Local residents pooled their resources to fund the construction of the school , which was named for Peter Hardeman Burnett , the first governor of California .
The Encinal School District near present-day Coyote began in 1867 with classes initially held in private homes . ‘ Encincal ’ is a Spanish word referring to the many live oak trees so common to the valley . The first schoolhouse was built in 1872 through donations by the local families . It was located at the corner of the Moore property on the west side of Monterey-San Jose Road . The Ramelli family then came into ownership of the property and classes continued at the site until 1907 . Family picnics and community meetings were held on the school grounds , which originally accommodated grades
one through four . It was not until 1885 that Encinal was officially designated as a grammar school . In 1908 , Encinal School was moved to its current location on the east side of Monterey Road . Part of the old schoolhouse was used as a storage shed for many years by the Ramelli family . Today , this campus serves the Charter School of Morgan Hill .
Llagas School was originally located near Casa Loma Road but it is no longer in existence . It is interesting to note that William H . Adams moved to the Llagas district in 1896 where his ranch covered eighty-five acres and upon clearing the land of oak trees and poison oak he developed a fine prune orchard . William was the son of John Hicks Adams of Gilroy who was the Santa Clara County Sheriff and the benefactor of the Adams School located on Watsonville Road near Redwood Retreat Road . William attended primary school there , and after starting his own family , served eighteen years as trustee for the Llagas School .
The Thomas family has lived in the area for six generations and still run cattle at their Oak Flat Ranch near Pine Ridge . The children of family patriarch , Eleazar Thomas who established their homestead in 1876 , received their primary education at the Soda Springs School ( named for the Madrone Soda Springs “ resort ” nearby ) All five graduated and the three daughters continued on to San Jose State Normal School and became teachers . The youngest daughter , Anne , returned to the hills to teach at the Hoover Valley ( Packwood Creek ) School in the 1890 ’ s . That school
site was along Frost Road but it is no longer there .
Machado School in Paradise Valley is celebrated its 120th year of public education in June . The school has a great history with Bernardo ( Barney ) Machado and Mary Frances Murphy Machado donating the land in 1895 . Originally a one-room schoolhouse , a second room was added on in 1910 to accommodate all eight grades . The Britton and Ward families helped develop the school and their children attended as well . The old Machado School building served the community until 1967 when it was deemed unsafe according to earthquake standards . The Machado School Heritage Society was organized in 1974 to save the building through fundraisers and sweat equity culminating in 1983 when it was dedicated as a historical site . The Society continues to support the site on Sycamore Avenue each year through rentals , craft fairs , and appeals . Machado School is truly a treasure of Morgan Hill . If school buildings could talk , there would be some whopper stories , and I did not even mention Live Oak High School , Uvas School , Barrett or Britton . Or that the first two elementary schools in Morgan Hill proper , one built in 1895 the other in 1907 , were neighbors on Fourth Street . Schools make lifelong impressions and give us so much hope for the future .
GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN JULY / AUGUST 2015 gmhtoday . com
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