SCHOOLHOUSE HISTORY
According to articles, Messilla Valley Schoolhouse was built in 1856 in the community of Pence and served as a school until 1966. It is one of the oldest one-room schoolhouses in Butte County and has been moved a total of five times. The final move was to the Yankee Hill area on June 27, 2002. It is located next to the Golden Feather Swimming Pool across from Concow School.
The original schoolhouse (prior to the coatroom addition) was a 24' by 30' rectangular structure with a 13 foot ceiling and a high pitched roof. Materials and workmanship were of the highest quality. All clear, rough-sawn fir was used with a timber framing technique where the wood is joined with a mortise and tenon and locked in place with wooden pegs. Square nails were used in other parts of the construction.
The bell tower with its own gable roof was atop four posts setting on the ground adjacent to the front door.
The original siding (probably cedar) was replaced prior to 1922. A photo of the class of 1922 shows the current siding which is eight inch, clear pine with a molded shadow line at the top.
The original roof was covered with cedar shingles, later with a green composition roofing, and then again with corrugated metal.
There were eight double-hung windows, three on each side and two in back. The two back windows were replaced with doors. There was a single door in the front for entry. The building did not have a foundation. The rim joists that make up the base of the building were no doubt setting on rocks or some other material because they are in such good condition and would surely have rotted away if they were setting on the ground as with a typical mud sill.
The interior walls and ceiling are covered with tongue and groove, clear fir wainscoting. The original floor is tongue and groove, 4" boards, probably pine or fir.
There are ten original blackboards in the building cut from slabs of pine and placed between the windows. Most of the blackboards measured 28" x 60." The two on either side of the front door were 9 ½' long by 28" wide of clear pine more than one inch thick. The faces were planed smooth and painted black.
At some point in time, a coatroom was built around the bell tower and the posts were left inside the room. The coatroom construction was of lesser quality and, according to a former student, there was no direct access into the schoolhouse
RESTORATION PROGRESS 2002
After the building was moved to the present location in June 2002, preparations began for a foundation. The foundation was completed in September and the building lowered Oct. 18, 2002. A new roof using the original rafters, covered with modern oriented strand board and metal sheeting was completed in November.
Revised Jan. 2007