Historic Landmarks of San Francisco

By January 1847 San Francisco had around 40 school-aged children and no schools. The City fathers were disturbed. Among them was Sam Brannan, who lamented this lack editorially in his California Star. Response was favorable, and the first school board was elected in February. It included Dr. John Townsend, a Virginia MD who came overland via wagon in 1844 and was later elected mayor, storekeeper Charles L. Ross, and John Sirrino, a Mormon elder.

Work began soon thereafter on a schoolhouse. In December the building was completed, but it was not until April 3, 1848, that a teacher could be found. Thomas Douglas, a Yale graduate, was retained at $1,000 a year. Students at the school, somewhat grandly called the Public Institute, paid five to twelve dollars per quarter for their education. The little building also served as town hall, court house, and police station. The school operated for two months. Then, in June 1848, news of the first gold discovery reached San Francisco. Virtually the whole adult male population of the City, including school master Douglas, left for the mines. San Francisco was once again without a public school.

The schoolhouse was located in the southwest corner of Portsmouth Square, near the intersection of Clay Street and Walter U Lum Place. The site is marked by a 1957 tablet mounted on a sandstone base and placed by the Masons. A carving in the stone above the plaque depicts the old building.