Gilroy
First Public School
Written By Elizabeth Barratt
“The general expression of the scholars was animated and pleasant…
we did not find what might be called a stupid expression among them.”
Gilroy Advocate Editor, 1871
Clara Ousley with students in 1894.
70
GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN
Bertie Benn
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2016
G
ilroy’s first school was not
established inside city limits
but in a one-room wooden
building east of town located on the
Hildebrand Ranch. This earliest school
started in 1853 with a class of four
students.
Kentucky native William R. Bane
(1818-1893), who opened the school
and served as its first teacher, was a
Mexican War veteran. Bane initially
came to California in 1848, settling
in Gilroy in 1850. He owned a ranch
near Old Gilroy and served as a school
trustee, a member of the High School
Board and as a City Councilman
(1878-1880).
According to a museum booklet
titled “Gilroy School History-1853
to 1888,” Gilroy’s first permanent
public Grammar School in town was
established in 1854. The one-story
building was constructed on the south-
west corner of a large schoolyard that
stretched along Third Street between
Church and Rosanna Streets. In time,
the property held both the elementary
and high schools.
The grammar school was touted
as “An institution second to none in
the state, its results most satisfactory–
a large proportion of teachers from
its classes–the pride of the citizens,”
according to the historical brochure.
For further frills, the description also
noted that Gilroy’s public school system
thrived in a community it dubbed “The
Queen of South Santa Clara Valley.”
Becoming a teacher was no easy task
in Gilroy’s early days. Besides a strong
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