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In Search of History in San Diego
Dr. Scott Henderson often searches for history—and this summer his search took him to San Diego, where he toured and photographed sites he discusses in his history of American education course.
Among the places Dr. Henderson visited was the Mason Street School, which was the first public school in San Diego County (1865). On any given day, almost 30 not-so-eager students would crowd into this one-room schoolhouse. The school’s first teacher, Mary Chase Walker, received a salary of $65 a month (slightly above the monthly average of $62 for female teachers in California).
Dr. Henderson also visited a museum that contains artifacts from St. Anthony’s Indian School (1886-1907), which was established by the Catholic missionary Father Anthony Dominic Ubach. At its peak, the school had almost 100 students who were taught skills such as shoemaking, stock raising, farming, and sewing, vocations vividly portrayed by the museum’s unearthed artifacts.
Dr. Henderson’s itinerary included Presidio Park, the location of the first European settlement on the West Coast (1769). The focal point of Presidio Park is a rather fanciful replica of the mission founded by Father Junipero Serra. This building serves as a museum highlighting Father Serra’s religious and educational work, especially his role in creating the so-called mission system of schooling that sought to “civilize” Indigenous inhabitants of California.
Dr. Henderson has already had a chance to share some of the photos with his students; they don’t have to search for history—it comes to them.