In 1840, Jared Sheldon and William Daylor both worked at Sutter’s Fort – Sheldon as a carpenter, and Daylor tending herds. While seeking strays one evening, Daylor viewed the Cosumnes River Valley and reported back to Sheldon of its desirability and potential for settlement. Sheldon applied to the Mexican government for a land grant of over 18,000 acres and, in partnership with Daylor, established the Omuchumnes grant.
Both Daylor and Sheldon married daughters of Thomas and Elizabeth Rhoads. The Rhoads family had arrived in California in October of 1846 and their son, John Rhoads, became a member of therelief parties. He is credited with carrying Naomi Pike out of the mountains to safety on his back. While the reason for naming the school district “Rhoads” is historically uncertain, it seems most likely that it was to commemorate this heroic deed.
The first Rhoads School was built in the 1850’s by pioneer Jared Dixon Sheldon. It was close to the Cosumnes River, which was subject to flooding. Children became sick from mosquitoes bites, which we now assume was malaria, so the school closed in 1872.
In 1872 the second Rhoads School was built on Sloughhouse Road as a community effort. Its financing was by public subscriptions, cakes and pickle sales, and a benefit ball with tickets at $3.50 each. Total expenditures were $1,312.60, which included the schoolhouse, outhouse, insurance and some furnishings that were simple; desks for students, a desk and chair for the teacher, a stove, clock, broom, bucket, and dipper.
Both schools were named after John P. Rhoads, who arrived in California from Illinois in 1846.
The Rhoads wagon train traveled part of the way west with the Donner Party, though the Donners were about three weeks behind them as the Rhoads passed through Salt Lake City.
History has revealed the tragedy that met the Donner Party as they attempted to cross the mountains in what proved to be and unusual ferocious winter.
John P. Rhoads was one of seven men who volunteered for a rescue party to carry supplies to the Donner Party and bring survivors to safety. In all, he made three rescue missions.
The school opened in May 1872 with Agnes S. Jaycoax as teacher. There were 21 students enrolled, with an average daily attendance of 15. The school taught 1st through 10th grade. Ages 6 through 17 were taught and the school started out as non-graded, but when then was rated as “first grade” meaning that the teacher passed the county examination with a very high score.
All teachers were required to be at least 18 years of age and to hold a valid teaching certificate granted by the County Board of Examiners. Teacher’s salaries at Rhoads from 1872 to 1906 ranged from $55.00 to &84.80 a month, including room and board. The teacher would board with different families throughout the year. Some families were gracious and some were reluctant. Most times the teacher would walk 1-3 miles to and from school, rain or shine, carrying lunch, books and school papers.
Drinking water was carried by bucket from the well across the road at the Taylor (later the Murphy) Ranch. The bucket, with a dipper sat on a wooden bench in the cloakroom. The children drank from the dipper, and returned it to the bucket. The Taylors and the Murphy’s also allowed watering trough privileges for the horses of the children that rode to school.
Besides carrying water, students’ chores including hauling wood. The stove stood in the middle of the classroom, and was the schools only source of heat. There was no artificial light, and on very dark days, kerosene lanterns were used to add light or class was dismissed early.
The schoolyard was large, but not improved and very little play equipment and only one out house. After the first year, a second out house was built. The boy’s facility was northeast of the school – the girls was to the southwest.
Graduation exercises were usually school performances and entertainments. Usually, no more than 5 or 6 students graduated, some years none or only one. Students traveled to Sacramento to take graduation examinations to allow them to go on to high school. (Note: Elk Grove HS was built in 1893).
The 1866-1867 school year was the last time that Rhoads School District appeared in either state or county school records until 1872 when classes resumed in the newly constructed school building. It is also uncertain why the original Rhoads School closed down, but it is believed that too many children were becoming ill by exposure to “bad night air”. That is, they were contracting malaria, possible due to the school’s location in the bottomlands of the river. It was also a fact that many families were moving away. The original building burned to the ground, possibly while it was closed due to the malaria outbreak, but the timing was unclear.
In 1946 the Rhoads, Michigan Bar, Stonehouse, and Wilson Districts combined into the Cosumnes River Union School District. In 1959 the Cosumnes River Union School District became part of the Elk Grove Unified School District.
In 1976, the Bicentennial Year, the Rhoads School was moved from its home on Sloughhouse Road to the Elk Grove Park. The school was given by the Murphy family to the Sacramento County Parks Department. Members of the community contributed hundreds of hours restoring the deteriorating building and returning it to its appearance around the end of the century.
With the school in Elk Grove Park, the newly formed Elk Grove Historical Society assumed responsibility of administering it for the community.
Today the Rhoads School serves two purposes. It is a Living History Program for school classes in the Sacramento County area, and it is also a museum that is open to the public several days a year, when there are special events at the Elk Grove Park. We have expanded our open hours from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm on the first Saturday of each month when the Elk Grove Stage Stop Museum is also open.
The Rhoads School Living History Program introduces children of today to the education life of children of the 1890’s. Third and fourth grade classes spend a day at the school, learning what it was like to be a student in a one-room schoolhouse so long ago. They come to school wearing clothing typical of what would be worn by farming children of that time.
Their subjects are the usual reading, writing, arithmetic, spelling, and also elocution and penmanship. They played the recess games that were played so many years ago. – Marbles, jacks, hoops, jump rope, and stilts.
Presently, we schedule 80 classes a school year that are taught by 6 docents. Contact us at rhoadsschool.com for information.