Catheys Valley Grammar School
Community pride shows in the immaculate condition of this 148 year old building. Photo courtesy of Andrew Laverdiere, Feb. 28, 2018, © Creative Commons BY-NC-ND
Description
This classic one room schoolhouse received repairs courtesy of the Works Progress Administration (WPA).
WPA Proj. No. 65-3-3714, December 24, 1935, $1,344 “Repair & paint Grammar school building excavate court & playground.”
The land was donated to the school by Andrew Cathay in 1879.
Thanks to a community effort, when the school was threatened with demolition because of the expansion of the current elementary school, it was moved a mile to the town park. The building still exists and is kept in original shape. Occasionally, it is used to demonstrate older teaching methods to local students. There is an E. Clampus Vitus memorial in front that incorporates a stone with “1936” inscribed in it, possibly from the WPA work.
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Children get to experience how it “used to be” annually.
Catheys Valley Grammar School Interior
Children get to experience how it "used to be" annually.
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Catheys Valley Grammar School E. Clampus Vitus Memorial.
A stone engraved with "1936." Cathays Valley Grammar School
Catheys Valley Grammar School E. Clampus Vitus Memorial.
Source notes
WPA Job Card, Fresno Public Library, San Joaquin Valley Heritage & Genealogy Center
E. Clampus Vitus (Matuca Chapter 1849) memorial
Local source
Project originally submitted by Andrew Laverdiere on March 2, 2018.
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