Lochiel Schoolhouse, Santa Cruz County, AZ - One-Room Schoolhouses on Waymarking.com

Lochiel School sits near a wash shaded by towering cottonwood trees in a tranquil, remote community very near the U.S.-Mexico border. Painted red, the stuccoed adobe building stands out and is one of only a few remaining one-room schoolhouses with associated teacherage left in the Santa Cruz basin. It sits at the end of 27 miles of dirt road east of Nogales, Arizona/Mexico in the verdant San Rafael valley where Oklahoma and many other movies were filmed. Children attended school in the community since 1892, when Lochiel was known as La Noria.

In 2010 The Patagonia Museum leased the schoolhouse property from the Patagonia School District for the purpose of preserving this historic site for future generations, to be utilized as a historic and educational facility for students and community. Germán Quiroga is president of the Patagonia Museum.

Germán’s mother, Elena Quiroga (80) was a student at the schoolhouse from 1939 to 1948. Elena Quiroga’s great-grandparents were pioneers who settled in Lochiel in 1886 and raised cattle. Elena Quiroga recalls the shiny wooden floors and rows of wooden desks that were filled by about two dozen students. Most were her cousins, and the others were from surrounding ranches. She tells about the subjects taught in class - spelling, arithmetic, geography, history and writing. Among the student chores were cleaning the chalkboards, sweeping the floors, bringing in chopped wood for the stove and lugging in water from the well. When students needed to be excused, they used an outhouse on the property. Later an indoor bathroom was added, along with a storage area for supplies and a place for students to put their belongings. Adjacent to the schoolhouse sits a two-bedroom teacher's house built in 1962.

Original or Re-creation?: Original Year the school first opened.: 08/01/1900 Year the school closed.: 06/01/1972 Is the schoolhouse still open as a school?: no Address: Duquesne Rd. Lochiel, Arizona USA 85624 Does the school offer 19th century classroom reenactments or day camps?: no Web Address (if available): Not listed

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Date Logged Log   12/31/2014 grandmabetsy visited it 10/17/2014 tugies visited it

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