Piedmont Unified School District history

In 1852 Walter Blair became the first settler in the Piedmont hills.

Built on a prominent knoll, this elegant 1876 Italianate mansion had 22 rooms, and its buttercup yellow paint was visible from across the bay.

In 1877 James Gamble, the president of Western Union Telegraph, bought 350 acres of land from Walter Blair.

He owned six acres on Highland Avenue and built this home in 1879.

Piedmont’s only industry was its “Silk Farm.” Established in 1885, the Ladies Silk Culture Society operated a 15-acre farm planted in mulberry trees near today’s Dudley Avenue and Littlewood Drive.

The Redmon's tea house, which had been in the back yard, was moved to Piedmont Park and placed in the exact spot where an earlier tea house had been built by Frank Havens in 1890.

The Ladies Silk Culture Society closed in 1895.

After the hotel burned, Frank C. Havens developed Piedmont Park in 1898 to continue to draw visitors and future residents to Piedmont.

In the early 1900’s, Piedmont students attended Oakland High School.

By 1901, the Key Route electric streetcars replaced the cable car system in Piedmont and the East Bay, and soon Piedmont had three streetcar lines.

The Maze, planted in privet in 1904 where today’s Witter Field stands, challenged visitors to find the red pagoda in the center.

In 1905, a two-story, four-room school was built in town.

After the 1906 earthquake and fire in San Francisco, many refugees fled to Oakland and Piedmont.

In May of 1907 Hugh Craig became the second mayor of the city and is considered the father of Piedmont.

Piedmont City Hall was built in 1908.

In 1909, the town of Piedmont was incorporated.

Piedmont City Hall was built in 1910.

The city's first school was built on Bonita Avenue in 1911 on property donated by Frank C. Havens.

In 1912, Wallace Alexander headed a group of residents, purchased 2 acres across from Piedmont Park, and hired Albert Farr to design a commercial center.

In 1913 the Lake Avenue School was built, and 4 teachers taught 6 grades and 100 students there.

The school was renamed the Frank C. Havens School in 1914.

Farr designed many of the buildings in the civic center, including the Piedmont Community Church which was built in 1916 and the Exedra arch.

In September 1922, the Piedmont Unified School District opened the city's first high school. It was funded by a bond passed by voters in 1920.

Piedmont High School was designed by William H. Weeks, and when it opened in 1921, it offered classes for both junior and senior high school students.

In September 1922, the Piedmont Unified School District opened the city's first high school.

The charter was adopted by the voters on February 27, 1923 and can only be changed by another vote of the people.

Wildwood School followed in 1924.

Piedmont schools benefited from the Works Projects Administration building programs in 1940.

In 1950 the Veteran's Building was built next door to City Hall on land that had been used as a small park.

In 1963, a biology teacher began a classroom exercise on birds.

The first Holiday Tree lighting was in 1968.

Piedmont celebrated the nation’s Bicentennial on several occasions in 1976.

In the 1980's, Piedmont continued to grow, though not at the dramatic rate it experienced during the 70's.

Improvements to Piedmont Park began in 1987 with the city’s Main Park Renovation Plan.

Piedmont Unified School district also did major building projects at each school in Piedmont during the 1990's and rebuilt Witter Field at Piedmont High School.