By Harrison Power
Many of Modesto’s current schools and school names date back a hundred years or more, yet in that time many of the original school buildings were replaced, or campuses relocated and built new. Though much of Modesto’s earlier school construction was lost or eventually repurposed, there are some sites which have remained fairly intact. With the return to school this Fall, students of Wilson (and Enslen Elementary School!) have the distinction of getting their education at a school where the historic primary building is still utilized and located on its original site.
As Modesto grew in the early 20th century and residential developments were expanded outside of the original downtown grid, so did the number of local children seeking accessible schools for elementary education. In the 1930’s, this was exacerbated by the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl, with waves of out-of-state families settling in the Central Valley. In Modesto, this was largely concentrated east of Modesto in newer subdivisions off of the Waterford Road (now Yosemite Blvd) and then the Airport District. With Modesto’s early grammar schools predominantly located in central Modesto along I Street, desire arose from parents in this part of town and others for schools to be established with closer and safer proximity than the downtown schools.
After parent advocacy and petition, the Modesto Board of Education took action and opened Woodrow Wilson School on September 10, 1929 as a one bungalow structure set in the middle of an unleveled, sandy lot within the Wilson School Tract subdivision. Mrs. Louisa Thurber served as the school’s first teacher and principal until 1937, and was also active in helping to establish the first Wilson Parent Teacher Association in June 1929.
In 1934, Wilson parents advocated for classroom improvements, given the cramped quarters in the temporary bungalow. The Board of Education proposed one-classroom stucco buildings at both Wilson and Enslen at cost of $2,889 each, paid for by a tax on school district residents. Described as the first unit of the school’s building program, the classroom building was designed by Berkeley architect John J. Donovan, and built by Modesto contractor Wendell Thompson. After completion, the first formal school building was dedicated on February 14, 1935 by City Superintendent of Schools J. H. Bradley.
Throughout the latter half of the 1930’s, the Wilson School school campus was further developed as the student population grew – the initial 30 students in 1929 rose to 70 students in 1936, and by September 1939 the school was serving 335 children. Two new classrooms were added on to the existing classroom in 1937, and then a building with four more classrooms was built in 1939 with support from the New Deal WPA, which doubled the classroom capacity of the school. Later, the two classroom buildings were connected to create the primary school building that is known and still used today.
Wilson School was borne out of necessity, and that need only grew exponentially throughout the hardest years of the Great Depression. As reminisced in the Modesto Bee in 1940, “we were fortunate in having Mrs. Louise Thurber selected to pioneer this new school, as it was under the most trying conditions that she willingly and ceaselessly labored for its welfare…From then on, an increasing number enrolled, and with the influx from other states, the prompt and efficient manner in which the school system of Modesto rallied to the cause is clearly exemplified in the Wilson School.” From incredibly humble beginnings to nearly a century later, Wilson Elementary School is a testament to the dedication of past generations of teachers, school leaders, and parents who worked with limited resources to make sure local students were supported.
