Donald M. Cleland A History of the Santa Monica Schools 1876-1951, Santa Monica Unified School District, February 1952 (Copied for the Santa Monica Library, July 22, 1963), June 7, 2007, 1901, 1899, 1895, 1893, 1890, 1890s, 1889
Chapter I
" . . .
There were several other early schools included in the Santa Monica system prior to 1900. There is, however, little record of some of them. There was the South Side School in Ocean Park [1890]; the Calabasas School [1891], located approximately fifteen miles northeast of Santa Monica and at the southwestern end of the San Fernando Valley; the Garripatas Canyon School [1893], now the Topanga Canyon School, which was located in the cattle pasture lands and which probably derived its name from the parasites that afflicted the herds of cattle that roamed the hills and canyons; and the Santa Monica Canyon School [1894], located just north of Santa Monica in Santa Monica Canyon or the original Boca de Santa Monica. All of these schools, except the South Side School, ceased to exist for a time or have withdrawn to form or join another district.
" . . .
In April, 1889, a Baptist Sunday school was called in the home of Mrs. Drane on the south side of Santa Monica. For a time, the Sunday school was held in the South Side [the old Washington] school. From February 1, 1890 until November 3, 1892, the Reverend A.P. Brown, pastor of the Baptist Church at Palms, preached alternate Sundays at Ocean Park. On September 5, 1892, the first "Baptist Mission" was dedicated as a branch of the Palms church. The church cost $700.00 and was furnished with one hundred chairs, a pulpit, and an organ. p.16
Chapter II
One teacher after another tackled the [South Side] school, but none of them remained very long. Maggie Biggy took over from Miss Huie; and she, too, tendered her resignation within a year. Hattie Bowles came next, followed in 1893 by Edith Lane who remained until the second schoolhouse was erected in 1895, when Alice M. Frazier and Estelle Barden were employed. Kate Smith was elected the first principal of the South Side School in 1899, and Florence Rubicam, one of the first graduates of the Santa Monica High School, and Elizabeth Hamlin, later supervisor of elementary schools, was elected principal in 1901. [37. Pearl, op. cit., pp. 21-22.]
" . . .
The Ocean Park area built up at a steady rate, far more rapidly than Santa Monica proper. The sand dunes surrounding the school sprouted small houses and each home usually had one or more children. The increased population soon overtaxed the capacity of the two small school buildings on the hill [1895]. A second story had been planned for the larger building, adding an additional room; but before it could be accomplished, the need had grown too imperative to wait for its construction. The sixth, seventh, and eighth grades were sent to the Baptist Church to be accommodated, and the trustees rented the Santa Fe Pavilion for use of the second and third graders. The parents were insisting on the construction of a new school house, but the board lacked sufficient funds to erect such a building as would be needed in the next two years. [39. Pearl, loc. cit.], 1890s