Goffs Schoolhouse, California

What is Goffs Schoolhouse?

A single-story building in the Mission or Spanish Revival style, designed by San Bernardino architect Anthony Beimer. Stucco over wire mesh covers the wood frame, red-painted tin tiles edge the flat roof, and arched porches line two sides. Inside is one 800-square-foot classroom. Outside stand old vehicles and mining machinery, among them the American Boy ten-stamp mill, restored to working order.

History of Goffs Schoolhouse

The road beside the railroad at Goffs was the National Old Trails Road and became US 66 in 1926. The school opened in 1914 on an acre of donated land and served a district of about 1,000 square miles. Many pupils were children of railroad and mine workers or came from Mexican families, and older bilingual pupils translated for the teacher. The building also held dances and a county library branch.

It closed as a school in 1937 and became a canteen for Army troops of the Desert Training Center in World War II. Empty and vandalized after about 1954, it was stabilized in the 1980s by Jim and Bertha Wold, who lived in it. Historian Dennis Casebier and his wife Jo Ann bought it in 1990 and gave it to the association in 1998, the year it was restored to its 1914 look after interviews with more than 40 former students and residents. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2001.

Visiting Goffs Schoolhouse: tips

The schoolhouse sits on Goffs Road, the pre-1931 alignment of Route 66, which Goffs lost when a shorter highway opened in December 1931. Museum days vary between sources, so check the association's website before you go.