Castro Valley Got 'School Jacked'

By John Christian, Assistant Archivist

Since the end of World War II and the formation of the in 1964, Castro Valley’s schools have changed little. The 19^th century and early 20^th century is an entirely different story.

The first school house in Castro Valley dates back to 1854 with the arrival of Zachariah Hughes, a Methodist preacher. Seeing the need for a school, Hughes along with William Mattox and Robert Farrely went to Sacramento to secure funding for a school.

The group got $506.15 from the state plus $300 from Castro Valley residents (that’s about $12,000 and $7,000 today, respectively). Using their funding they built the Eden Vale School, as they called it, using redwood lumber near the intersection of what is today Redwood Road and Grove.  

In addition to its use as a school, Father Hughes also used the building for religious services and invited traveling preachers to deliver lectures and sermons to Castro Valley residents.  

By 1855, there were 155 school-age children in the area (including Hayward) with 44 actually enrolled in the school and an average daily attendance of only 16 students.

Now, with 155 children in the area and only 16 usually showing up for school begs the question, why was the school’s attendance so low? The most likely explanation is that the over five-mile trek was too much for Hayward students. At the time Hayward had no school of its own.

Recognizing the need for a school in Hayward, residents decided to take drastic action. Instead of following the example of Hughes and trying to secure funding for a school building through the state, Hayward residents sought a more immediate solution.

Legend has it that on a dark night in 1864 (no doubt stormy and rainy too), some Hayward residents traveled to Castro Valley, placed the Eden Vale School on skids and dragged the entire building all the way to B and First Streets in Hayward.

In other words, Castro Valley’s first school house was “school jacked”. It’s difficult to say if the school was actually stolen in the night, but it makes a better story.

It seems hard to believe that no one happened to notice an entire building being dragged away. Imagine waking up the next morning, looking out your window and saying to yourself, “I have to say, I am pretty sure there was an entire school there yesterday…but how could have… where…who would move a whole…hmmm…Hayward!!!!!!” 

Regardless of the exact circumstance it is a great story and demonstrates an interesting connection between Hayward and Castro Valley to say the least. It also makes me wonder how long it took Castro Valley to forgive Hayward for the “school jacking”.

The stolen school remained in use until 1868 in downtown Hayward when it was purchased, moved again and converted to a private residence. Luckily for Castro Valley’s school children, Hayward began building its own schools and did not revert to its old habit of stealing entire buildings under cover of darkness.

All that being said, and , a few words of advice: Make sure your school is bolted to the foundation, otherwise you might just wake up the next morning thinking “hey wasn’t there a school there?”

More on Castro Valley Schools in our next post!