When No. 2 Schoolhouse was More than a Road

Here’s the monthly History Column for September from San Juan Historical Society and Museum…

Island schools are back in full swing and we can’t help but look fondly upon school photos from long ago. There is a lot to see in these two photographs taken at No. 2 Schoolhouse over 100 years ago. We are most drawn to the circa 1900 image of students and their teachers. Who can help us identify them? Please leave a comment here or contact the San Juan Historical Society and Museum.

We know the three Fleming siblings (Clarence, front row left edge; May, front row in white dress; Ray, second row right edge) and the four Guard siblings (Gladys, front row left; Florence, front row right; Roy, second row center tallest boy; Harold next to him on the right). The remaining girl in the front row center position is Amelia Pfiffner. They are posed in front of the “old schoolhouse,” a squared log, rustic school built in the late 1870s and featured in the second photograph.

By 1889, school enrollment had grown quite a bit and a larger, more modern schoolhouse was built next to the log school. Classes were then split between the two buildings. Neither schoolhouse is standing today where they once were, close to the road’s corner with San Juan Valley Road. But you can see three other pioneer schoolhouses on the island: each one actively used for other forms of enrichment at Roche Harbor Resort and San Juan Vineyards.

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