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Description
Photo--black and white: Watson School in 1959 is a white one-story clapboard building with "Watson Dist. 1856" painted on front over the two single doors. A fence surrounds the school with a bell tower and is located at 15000 Bodega Highway between the towns of Bodega and Freestone. Watson School was one of the country schools in the Watson School District. The school was in operation from 1856 to 1967 and is now a registered historic place managed by the Sonoma County Regional Parks Department. The simple gable (Greek revival origins) with a small bell tower was a typical design of one-room schools at the time. A unique characteristic of this building is a sloping floor from the rear toward the front forming an amphitheater seating arrangement for the desks. Oil lamps were used for lighting until electric lights were installed in the early 1900s. A wood stove served as heating for the life of the school. In 1967, the Board of Trustees made the decision to close the school and donate it to Sonoma County Regional Parks. The preservation of the school as a historical landmark is important. In 1976 the school was named Sonoma County landmark 23. In 1978 it was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.
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