Historical buildings are somewhat rare in California. The oldest structures date to the last quarter of the 18th-century; early California Spanish Missions and a handful of adobe homes. There are more from the 19th-century and multitudes from the 20th, but one stands out in particular, the old Maizeland Schoolhouse built in 1868. A few of these old schoolhouses still exist up and down California, a few younger, notably Altaville and Columbia’s schoolhouse in the north, 1858 and 1860 respectively, and the Mason Street Schoolhouse in San Diego, from 1865, but the Maizeland/Rivera Schoolhouse is special…
Modern Pico-Rivera is a city located in the northwestern part of Los Angeles County. It could very well be called a suburb of the greater City of L.A. It wasn't always this way. For much Southern California's history, outlying towns in the Los Angeles area were very rural, and consisted of mainly agricultural industry from growing crops, to growing chickens and eggs, to dairy farms marketing milk. 19th-century Pico-Rivera, originally called Maizeland due to the predominate crop of corn, changed to Rivera in 1886 with the coming of the railroad. In the 1950s a merge with the town of Pico, created the city we know today.
Rivera in 1896
The school served this outlying farm community for many years, its usefulness being outgrown as the population grew. After serving students for 27 years, the schoolhouse was sold and moved to nearby MacDonald farm, used as an outbuilding. Originally standing on Shugg Lane (which is now modern Slauson Avenue), it was rescued from the farm in 1950 and placed where the Pico-Rivera Unified School district offices now stand. It was opened up as a local museum, but failed due to the expense of upkeep. The life of the old schoolhouse hung in the balance but was soon to take a turn for the better, despite the moves and failures. A farm in the Southern California was interested in buying, saving and displaying this relic of 19th-century learning.
Walter Knott purchased the schoolhouse and moved it to Knott's Berry Farm. It was restored and found a permanent home in Ghost Town, and stands as one of the few truly authentic buildings at Knott's. In addition, the school building is designated as a California Historic Landmark, the only one in the Park. Now you know why The Old Maizeland/Rivera School is something special. It’s not the oldest, but is one of the oldest, sitting in the middle of a World renowned amusement park, preserved for posterity, visited every single year, by the thousands.
