Sonoma County Landmark 23
Watson School
15000 Bodega Highway
Bodega
Built 1856

The marker reads:

Watson School 1856-1967

In 1856 three Sonoma County pioneers banded together to rpomote the construction of a school for their own children and the children of Freestone, Bodega and Valley Ford. James Watson donated the land and was aided in this civic enterprise by William Riley Robertson and A.S. Purrine. Other families in the area donated time and materials necessary for construction of the Greek-revival schoolhouse. Redwood trees growing along Joy Road, which were milled locally, provided the lumber. Other families whose children attended school here included Lebaron, Wiley, Pallascio, Courtright and Parmeter. It believed to be the longest operating one-room school in California.

Dedicated September 16, 2017 by
Sam Brannan Chapter #1004
E Clampus Vitus

Some Historic Schoolhouses in Northern California

Watson School was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.