The Berryessa Union School District was first established on October 8, 1855.  The first school building was located on the corner of Berryessa and Lundy.  This one room school later became the office of Flickinger Cannery (long since dismantled).  The second Berryessa school, of which J. C. Vennum's father was the first teacher, was constructed south of Berryessa Road and was in service for almost twenty years.  In 1870, with the enrollment reaching fifty (50), the Berryessa Board of Trustees purchased the Old Southern Methodist Church on Capitol Avenue and converted it into a schoolhouse for the District. 

 

In 1884, Mr. and Mrs. Isaiah Shaw donated two acres of land which is now a part of the present Berryessa School site. During this period, three districts -- Pala, Berryessa, and Eagle -- joined to form the Penetencia Union District.  In 1925, this union deconsolidated, Pala withdrawing and leaving the former Berryessa and Eagle Districts which then became known as the Berryessa Union School District.

 

 

By 1926, the existing building became overcrowded and district residents voted for bonds to construct the present Berryessa Union School which became one of the show places of Santa Clara County at the time of construction.  In 1956, a Kindergarten room and a multi-purpose room were added.  Due to the age and structural condition of the building, the Board of Trustees initiated action to modernize and rehabilitate the facility.  The project was completed in April of 1956.

 

Construction on a second school, Toyon Elementary, began in August 1955, and was completed in April 1956.  Additional school sites were acquired in 1964.  In very short order, Laneview, Ruskin, Birchwood, and Morrill were completed.  During the period of 1973 to 1975, plans were completed and approved for construction of additional schools -- Cherrywood, Vinci Park, Majestic Way, Brooktree, Summerdale, and Sierramont.  The District Office was completed in 1976.