Built in 1856, Watson District School is a one-room school in Sonoma County that remains on its original site in its original condition and served as a public school for 111 years, longer than any other one-room school in California. The school was established as pioneers settling the area as farmers and dairymen in the 1800’s needed a school for their children. Before that, coastal Miwok Indians occupied the land, and the Tsuwutena and Kennekono tribes lived near the area. In the 1700’s Spain claimed the land, and in the 1800’s Mexico gained independence from Spain and granted land to Mexican citizens and soldiers. Jasper O’Farrell received land for his survey work of Yerba Buena, now San Francisco, and James Watson, who arrived from Illinois in 1849, bought 1,100 acres from O’Farrell in 1852 for 1,000 sacks of potatoes. Watson, along with Mr. Purrine and Mr. Robertson, organized construction of the school to serve the community of Freestone, Bodega, and Valley Ford, with Watson donating the land and the community contributing labor, skills, and materials. Redwood harvested and milled nearby in what is now Joy Woods was used in the building, and the school’s uneven framing reflects the joint work of pioneer families. Its simple gable form with a small bell tower was typical of one-room schools of the time, while its sloping floor from rear to front created an amphitheater seating arrangement for desks. Oil lamps lit the school until electric lights were installed in the early 1900’s, and a wood stove heated it throughout its life. Enrollment changed over the years, from 11 students in 1856 to as many as 35 in the 1920’s and 10 when it closed in 1967. One teacher taught multiple grades at once, with older students helping younger ones in what was remembered as a family-like atmosphere. Among its notable teachers were Margaret M. Witham, who taught there from 1902 until retiring in 1950 and taught about 350 students, her sister Louise, who taught there in 1891, and Alice Entzminger, the last teacher, who taught from 1955 through 1967. In 1967 the Board of Trustees closed the school and donated it to Sonoma County Regional Parks, and in 1978 it was placed on the National Register of Historic Places as a testament to the frontier spirit of early California and the dedication of the community it served.