Remembering Watsonville
Moreland Notre Dame School, Watsonville
Moreland Notre Dame School, a gift of Mrs. Margaret Moreland, was opened by the Sisters in 1899. The stately Victorian building included a day school, rooms for boarders and the convent for the Sisters. This extraordinary gift came about after Mrs. Moreland’s daughter, Josephine, died while a student at College of Notre Dame in San Jose. Mrs. Moreland’s grief was transformed into generosity and she gave this school to the Sisters and the children of Watsonville in memory of her daughter.
Christmas time in Watsonville 1946 .. Watsonville Plaza ..
1890s Trade Card from Watsonville Calif for J.A. Seitz agent for Rambler Bicycles
Pajaronian , Main st circ 1800....
The Register-Pajaronian is a newspaper based in Watsonville, California. The newspaper’s roots trace back to 1868 when the Pajaronian was first published by J.A. Cottle. In 1894, a competing weekly newspaper owned by George W. Peckham began publishing daily and changed its name to the Register. In 1919, the Register was purchased by future Watsonville mayor Fred W. Atkinson, who then purchased the Pajaronian in 1930. After his death the two papers were purchased by the Scripps syndicate and consolidated into the Register-Pajaronian in 1940.
Some of Watsonville's well known Homes
The Rodgers Home 1860
The Martinelli Home 1889
The Bockius-Orr Home 1870
The D.M Clough Home 1871
The once spectacular Queen Anne Victorian was built in 1887 for beet farmer James Redman by architect William Weeks, known for designing the Casino Arcade at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk.
In 1930, the property was bought by the Hiraharas, a Japanese-American family who lived in the house before and after internment in World War II.
This one is still around
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The whole story...
Moreland Notre Dame Academy began as a memorial by Margaret Moreland for her daughter Josephine. Shortly before her untimely death at age 19, Josephine was encouraging her mother to use her influence in the community to improve the education of a growing population. Mrs. Moreland contracted in 1899 with W.H. Weeks to design a new boarding school for girls to be run by the Catholic Nuns of Notre Dame. Josephine was at the College of Notre Dame at the time of her death and the nuns accepted the offer of a new school in her honor. This grand first structure faced Main Street. It was damaged in a fire caused by the 1906 earthquake but repaired and improved in short order.
Until 1920, boys were accepted in grades one through four and were taught separately in the Boys’ School. After 1920, boys were accepted in grades five through eight. Boys and girls continued to be taught separately until about 1940. Growing enrollment necessitated the addition of more classrooms. In 1941, an initial $40,000 was raised to begin building an entirely new school. This second school building was constructed in 1942 on Brennan Street and was used to house the elementary classrooms.
The last graduation for Moreland Notre Dame High School in 1957 coincided with the opening of the new Mora Catholic High School. The boarding school also closed at this time and Moreland became a primary-grade private day school. In 1963, during another campus expansion, the elaborate 1899 William Weeks portion of the school was demolished and an ambitious fund raising drive was begun through the efforts of A.L. and Mitch Resetar to build a new convent and classrooms. Today the 1941 classrooms remain in the midst of several 1960s era structures.
The Watsonville fourth of July Parade 1959
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Alaga Brothers:
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