The San Juan High School Class of 1920 appears on the front steps of the school along with the 1st principal, O.H. Close (second row, far left) and several teachers (back row). The Class of 1920 was comprised of 25 students. This was a tradition for many years to have the senior class and faculty photographed in front of the school. Photo courtesy of the Citrus Heights Historical Society

CITRUS HEIGHTS, CA (MPG) - In 1912, not everyone went to high school in the rural community of Sylvan. Eighth-grade was the highest grade available in the area at the time.

Times were changing, though, and with the encouragement of Sacramento County, local ranchers and farmers started the San Juan Union High School District.

Founded in 1913 as the second high school in Sacramento County, the story of the officials and families who founded San Juan High School is inspiring.

The Citrus Heights Historical Society invites the public to a special presentation at 6 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 7 in Citrus Heights City Hall, 6360 Fountain Square Drive to celebrate the early decades of San Juan High School. The presentation is free and light refreshments will be served.

This is what the front of San Juan High School looked like with landscaping. Photo courtesy of the Citrus Heights Historical Society. Colorized by Thomas J. Sullivan

 

Larry Fritz, a San Juan High Class of 1973 member and the Citrus Heights Historical Society president, shared a selection of some of the earliest photos of the historic high school which he will feature in his Aug. 7 slide presentation at Citrus Heights City Hall.

“We’ll be discussing a number of questions, including why this high school was needed and who were the major players who framed this critical question and then drove the formation of the new San Juan Unified School District to come to be. It’s quite a tale,” Fritz said. “We’ll also take a look at who were the first students and what subjects they studied.”

In time, the word “unified” replaced the word union, and the San Juan Unified School District now contains 68 schools and more than 38,119 enrolled students.

The incorporated city of Citrus Heights is also now home to two high schools, Mesa Verde High at 7501 Carriage Drive which opened in 1975 and its first historic San Juan High at 7551 Greenback Lane.

This colorized aerial view of San Juan High was taken circa 1962 by Don Taggart, San Juan High’s photography teacher at the time. The view faces southwest with San Juan in the foreground and the intersection of Greenback Lane and San Juan Avenue near the center of the photo. Photo courtesy of the Citrus Heights Historical Society. Colorized by Thomas J. Sullivan

The land for the school site was donated by Walter Trainor, the man who named what would become the incorporated city of Citrus Heights. 

The San Juan High School website also has a brief history which celebrates its own rich history and the special legacy exhibit which was created by its proud Spartan alumni which opened to the public in 2013.

Construction on the building began during summer 1915. When school opened to welcome its first students, Greenback Lane was still unpaved, Fritz said. Landscape around the new school grounds wouldn’t be added until years later.

At its inception, the original two-story school building with a frame construction and a tile roof served all students living east of Fulton Avenue, south of the Placer County line and north of the American River.

The San Juan Union High School District was first composed of the communities of Sylvan, Orangevale, Fair Oaks, Roberts and what was the San Juan District. 

Enrollment in the new San Juan High School soon swelled to 92 with a large group coming from nearby Folsom. Folsom High would not be built until 1922.

The legacy exhibit in the San Juan High School cafeteria re-opens on Tuesday, Aug. 19 with the start of the new school year and will continue to be open from about 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesdays when school is in session.

School visitors intending to visit the legacy exhibit are required to check in at the main office.

“The purpose of the Legacy Exhibit is to educate the local community about the history of San Juan High School. To achieve this goal, we collect, preserve and exhibit artifacts, memorabilia and publications from the school’s alumni, teachers, students and administrative staff,” Fritz said.

San Juan graduates and the general public are equally welcome to come in and browse through the 100-year history of San Juan High School, Fritz said.

This photo shows the front of San Juan High in the early 1950s with Greenback Lane in the foreground, still a two-lane road at the time. The featured building is the auditorium that was constructed in 1939 and still stands, although with a modified facade. It was built in front of the original 1915 building, which is not in view. The 1915 building was demolished in the late 1950s to make way for newer classrooms and a library. Photo courtesy of the Citrus Heights Historical Society. Colorized by Thomas J. Sullivan

A visit will provide a great opportunity to look up old classmates; check out Who’s Who and find out what is going on with former San Juan graduates, Fritz said.

Visitors can also discover a considerable amount of information about the history of the neighborhood that surrounds the historic high school, its feeder schools and many local pioneer families.

The San Juan High School Alumni Association requests that their fellow alumni of all class years donate materials of interest and to volunteer their time, when possible, with historic displays in the legacy exhibit.

For more information about the Citrus Heights Historical Society, visit https://citrusheightshistory.org. To contact or to join the San Juan High School Alumni Association, visit https://sanjuanalumniassociation.org.