Located in front of Pacheco Elementary School is an older school bell on display. A plaque above the bell mentions the school as being established in 1875. I was able to locate an online
that highlights the history of this school district and even mentions this bell (bolded). There are also a couple of pictures of the former school that shows the bell tower this bell once rang in. The article reads:
Story of Churn Creek Valley and the Pacheco Union School District
Churn Creek Bottom, or Churn Creek Valley, as the residents of the area referred to it, was settled in the early 1800's. Some of the early settlers were families named Tracy, Logan, Harris, Parsons, Deakins, Hampton, Dinsmore, MacFarland, Love, Howard, Schaub, Saxon, McKinnon, Beach, Robinson, Pool, Edge, Brimmier, Hill, and Weir. Descendants of these early families still live in Shasta County. These first settlers contributed greatly to Shasta County's agriculture, history, education, and culture. We are particularly interested in the development of education in Churn Creek Valley.
Before 1875, school had been held in a private homes in the valley. The teacher boarded with various families, one week at a time. School would be held at the home where the teacher boarded that week, then on to another home the following week. Records of the school and its affairs are vague. There are many gaps in the accounts as to dates and activities. Much information that has gone into this story was collected by members of the Green Acres 4-H Club in 1985 as part of Pacheco School's 110th Anniversary. That year the 4-H held an Ice Cream Social at the school. Special invitations were sent to the descendants of early residents in Churn Creek Valley. The social was well attended.
The First School house in Churn Creek Valley began service in 1875
The first building to serve as a schoolhouse in Churn Creek Valley once served as a hog barn on the Jim Beach ranch. Due to the manner in which the building was constructed, hogs could enter the place at night and sleep there. Water for school use had to be carried in buckets from a ranch a quarter of a mile away. It was mainly because of the hogs night quarters that the three member school board decided that a new school house was in order.
Land values were low. Taxes at that time were $1.50 per $100 valuation. Money for the new school house was estimated between $55 and $1,500. Even these modest estimates seemed huge to many residents. There was much opposition to the proposed bond. A bond on the school district had to be passed in order to provide funds for the new building. The majority of the people in the people in the district thought that if they just didn't vote the bond would fall. Five favorable votes were cast and the bond passed.
A New School is built
The new school house was built on a site donated by the Issac C. Morgan family about halfway down the valley. The new schoolhouse was completed in 1884. The building was a white, one-story frame structure with high window on the north and south sides. It had a belfry which held the bell. The bell was rung each morning at 8:30 a.m. by the janitor, and by the teacher at 9:00 a.m. to call class to order. Old-timers remember the bell being used as a fire alarm or as a help signal. This bell can be seen today in front of Pacheco School. The date on the bell reads May 4, 1875.
The school was heated by large wood furnace with pipes hanging from the ceiling to carry heat throughout the room. Later, with volunteer labor, the furnace was replaced by a pot-bellied stove.
Pacheco district gets its name
Up until this time the School District did not have a name. It was suggested by Mrs. Logan, wife of a board member, that the new school be name Pacheco in honor of General Pacheco who had been governor of California for a short time. This suggestion was well received and in 1884 the Churn Creek area became the Pacheco School District.
Pacheco Union comes to be
With the building of Shasta Dam and the general economic advancement of Shasta County, people demanded better educational facilities. In the wake of these demands, the one teacher school was doomed. In many cases, it was found that there were not enough children in a district to open a fall term of school. The few children, in such a district, were transported to an adjoining district. These small schools were expensive to operate and often did not have the best facilities. As time went on, more and more small schools were annexed to larger and better equipped school districts. Prairie District, which lay south and east of Pacheco, was first to be annexed to Pacheco. This was done on January 16, 1951. On this date Pacheco became the Pacheco Union School District.
Like the original Pacheco District, the Prairie District had many early day settlers who were the founders of the Prairie Community. Family names such as St. Vrain, Stevenson, Stennison, Craven, Dillon, and Severtson were among the first settlers in that area.
The trend to phase out the smaller districts continued and in July 1963 the Sacramento River District, established in 1863, which was east of Pacheco, was annexed to the new union district. On March 2, 1964 the Shasta County Board of Supervisors recognized the annexation of portions of the Parkville District to Pacheco Union District. The Parkville District lay farther east and south of Pacheco. Names like Beatie, Jensen, McMullen, Reed, Halesman, McWhennie, Ross, Brightman, Robinson, Kuney, Peacock, Leas, Daymon, Vestal, Hickman, Jack, Dersch, and Hawes were some of the early settlers in this area. The Parkville Cemetary is the resting place for many of these settlers. The grave markers are interesting to read and provide incite to the local history. These people and their descendants have made and are still making contributions to the Pacheco Union School District and to Shasta County.
Pacheco School Moves to its new site
In 1949, the Board of Trustees decided that a new school site and a new school building was needed. The playground area and building area were now set by state law. The new school site and its building began serving students in 1949. Pacheco School has been located at its present site for the last 42 years. Prairie School was built and began serving students in 1965.