Party Like It's 1883

The Schoolhouse is 130 years old this year – the oldest building in Encinitas – and we’re celebrating. When the eleven-strong Hammond family arrived in Encinitas from England in 1883 they immediately doubled the town’s population. High on their list of priorities was a school for their own children, and the many they knew would soon arrive.

It was built by Edward Hammond and his son Ted, both British cabinetmakers, for the princely sum of $600, and for the next 45 years every child in Encinitas, from first grade through eighth, was educated in this one room schoolhouse, overseen by one stalwart schoolmarm.

But by 1928 the school was bursting at the seams, the children were scattered to other schools, and the schoolhouse was moved several blocks away to become a private residence. In 1983, its owner decided to demolish the old schoolhouse and build condominiums on his property... Saved from the wreckers’ ball by the Encinitas Historical Society, the schoolhouse was moved back to its almost-original site and today serves as the society’s headquarters.

Regular opening hours are 1-4pm. Friday and Saturday. But on Sunday, October 6, it will be open from 11am to 4pm. So come join us and step back to a simpler time in our town’s history.

Enjoy cookies and lemonade, talk to our knowledgeable docents, and mingle with the ladies and gents of the San Diego Costume Guild, dressed in their best Victorian outfits. Info: (760) 942 9066/760 889 7011, www.encinitashistoricalsociety.org

The schoolhouse is locoated at 1883 Schoolhouse, 390 West F Street and 4th (one block from the beach).

–Encinitas Historical Society press release