School History

by Ellen M. Harris

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Penngrove School is the oldest school in the Petaluma School District. The first school in Penngrove was in a small building near the Eagle Hotel from which the school took its name. The school was moved in 1876. The next school site was at the Southwest corner of the intersection of Main Street and Sonoma-Bodega Road (Adobe Road). It was a two room structure situated very close to the creek. When it was no longer used for a school building, the teacher lived in it. It was later moved a few yards south.

Another school, Copeland, was in the area now encompassed by the Penngrove School District. It was located at the second turn of Roberts Road on the north side of the road. The 1875 Petaluma paper described it as, "a redwood building sufficiently large to accommodate the children of the district. The furniture is of redwood and of fair quality."  The number of children belonging to the district was by June census, 36. W.H. Magoon is the teacher in charge. In 1877 there were 25 children in Eagle School and 43 at Copeland. The school census of 1882-83 recorded Eagle 36, Copeland 31.

In about 1906 the Eagle school was built on the East side of Main Street.  It was a two room structure housing students in grades 1 through 8, then remodeled to three classrooms for 1st to 3rd, 4th to 6th. and 7th and 8th.  The high school students had to take the train to Petaluma to complete their education.  The property where the school was located is now owned by Penngrove Community Church.  Only a few pieces of concrete foundation mark where the building stood.  The lumber and columns from the structure were used in the construction of the firehouse on Woodward Avenue in 1938.  Part of the original steps which went up the embankment to the school are still there, but the lower end of the staircase was changed when Main Street was widened.

In 1926 the school building on Adobe Road was built.  Al Hermann was the contractor.  For several years students from first to eighth grades were taught in the building's six classrooms.  The first eighth grade graduation was held in this building in 1927.  In the 1940's the Junior High students were bused to Petaluma and the school was just first through sixth grades.  A kindergarten class was started in a basement room in 1951.  Two wings were added to the school campus in 1958.

The Eagle School District joined with the Petaluma City Schools in the 1962-63 school year.  A multi-use room costing about $55,000 was built in 1963-64.  The Field Act effected the closure of the main building as it was deemed not earthquake safe in 1969.  A modular building containing 4 classrooms, and another with 1 classroom and office space were added to the school site.  In 1998 the remodeling of the old school building began and by the end of 1999, became the new home of our library, offices, computer lab, specialists, and resource rooms.

For a number of years, students completing Penngrove Elementary School attended Rohnert Park Junior High and Rancho Cotate High School but when these schools became a part of the new Cotati-Rohnert Park School District in 1978, the students from Penngrove were sent to Petaluma Junior High School and Petaluma High School.

In 1980, 257 students attended the school.  As of July 2006, there are 345 students in attendance: 174 male and 171 female students.  Kathleen Larson is the Principal and there are 16 teachers, a reading specialist, speech therapist, counselor, psychologist, nurse, 2 janitors and 2 secretaries.

View historic photos of students

Learn about the statue standing watch over Penngrove School

Read about the tremendous community effort in building the play structure in 1997