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As It Was: Quartz Valley Gets Three Schools Over the Years

The first school established in Quartz Valley was located along the Quartz Valley Road in Siskiyou County, Calif.  Landowner Dennis Mulloy donated land for the school, built in 1860 a half mile west of the Shackleford Creek Bridge.

The second school burned down.  It had been converted from an abandoned store on the Taylor place, also known as the Erno property, in the nearby settlement of Mugginsville.

Landowners Asa and Eliza Howard donated land for a third school, built in north Mugginsville.

An early schoolboy, Charlie Howard, rode a horse to school and reportedly terrorized other students by chasing them on horseback.  Weather dictated attendance, with snowstorms blocking children, many of whom walked five miles to the rustic school, where they sat on rough board benches.

By 1867, the Quartz Valley School District was divided, the second district taking the name Oro Fino School District.  By 1899, records indicate that there were 49 students at the school.  Mrs. Mary Hamilton taught the first semester that year and Mrs. Lottie Wheeler taught the second term.
 

Sources: Balfrey, Stanley. "History of the Schools of Siskiyou County." Siskiyou County School History, Siskiyou County Office of Education, www.siskiyoucoe.net. Accessed 21 Sept. 2018; "Quartz Valley School." Siskiyou Pioneer and Yearbook, vol. 2, no. No 7, 1955, p. 44.

Gail Fiorini-Jenner is a writer and teacher. Her first novel "Across the Sweet Grass Hills", won the 2002 WILLA Literary Award. She co-authored four histories with Arcadia Publishing: Western Siskiyou County: Gold & Dreams, Images of the State of Jefferson, The State of Jefferson: Then & Now, which placed in the 2008 Next Generation Awards for Nonfiction and Postcards from the State of Jefferson.