Old Mill School (Mill Valley, California)

History

• In 1918 school trustees purchased a lot bordered by Old Mill Street, Elma Street, Lovell Avenue, and Throckmorton Avenue to build a new school to replace the Summit School.
• On November 19, 1921 Old Mill School opened. Total construction cost, including equipment, was $85,000.
• In the 1930s Old Mill received a seismic retrofit along with the addition of classrooms 1, 2, and 3 on the Elma Street side of the school.
• In the late 1950s classrooms 9, 10, 11, and 12 were added on the Old Mill Street side of the school.
• In 1995 Old MIll School underwent a major, 3-year renovation, including the addition of a new library/multimedia center, an art/science facility, a new gymnasium/auditorium, and a new administration core.
• In 1997 two new modular classrooms were added on the Elma Street side of the upper yard because of a class size reduction policy adopted by the Mill Valley School District.

  Trivia

• In 1925 Helen Keller, through her long-time teacher Anne Sullivan, gave a talk to an audience of 200 at Old Mill School.
• George Cory, composer of I Left My Heart in San Francisco, was a student at Old Mill School.
• A sulphur spring well once existed beneath what is now the lower playground.

  Awards

• 1989, 1993, 1998 - California Distinguished School Award
• 2005, 2006 - CBEE Foundation and Just for the Kids - California Public Schools Honor Roll