Portola Primary School was built in 1909, and its bell had been moved in 1893 from the abandoned Searsville School. The building later served as the first town hall when Portola Valley was incorporated in 1964, and the town acquired it in 1976. The first Portola Valley school stood here from 1894 until 1950 on land donated by Mrs. Andrew Hallidie, replacing the Searsville School after the Searsville reservoir was created. It had one classroom, two outer rooms, a library alcove with one thousand books, and a belfry. Many students walked or rode ponies from as far away as Skyline or Coal Mine Ridge, and in the early years the school closed from December to March because travel was difficult. Enrollment ranged between 40 and 50 until after World War II, when increasing population required construction of a modern four-room school.