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Valley History: Carmel Valley Sun
Jan 4, 1987
Source: Monterey County Planning Department
Nestled among the Sierra del Salinas of the upper Carmel Valley, is the
site of the former Carmel Valley Ranch School, founded by Helen Lisle
and Celinea "Bunny" Wells. Miss Wells and Miss Lisle were school
teacher from New England, with an innovative approach to teaching. Their
ideas was to start an eastern private school on a western ranch.
The plan was for the school to run from October to May, with the teachers
accompanying the student by training from the east to California and back,
allowing for special stops along the way, with their routes varying through
the northern and southern United States. The parents likes this program
because of the travel education it provided the children.
The first school sites was located near the present-day Carmel Valley
Manor. [Actually, it is still present, on the south side of the Robinson
Canyon bridge, just uphill from the river. in 1999, the house was known
as Honey Acres, as bees were kept and honey sold by the owners. Early
photos of the school show the view from the school north, across the Carmel
River]. In 1929, a new location was found. Mr. Russell Hastings had just
purchased a ranch in upper Carmel Valley. Through a fortunate set of circumstances,
he became aware that the teachers were looking for a new school site and
offered them any site they wanted on his ranch at the price he paid for
it: $30 an acre.
Bunny and the children traveled to the Hastings Ranch and rode around
to find a spot for the school. The purchased a 167 ac. sites near an existing
barn. At this time, there were twelve children attending the school.
After the site was selected, the teachers hired Mr. Hugh Comstock to design
and build the house that was to be used for the school. They wanted a
New England style design so that the children would feel at home in their
new surroundings. Bunny felt that it was not the most perfect example
of a New England home: Mr. Comstock, on the on the hand, felt that an
eastern design was quite of place and that they should use a design that
reflected the Mexican heritage of the area. The school was constructed
by 18 carpenters in one summer!
Each year, the teachers interviewed students before admitting them and
then made the trip from Massachusetts to the Del Monte Station by
train.
The school children were isolated in the Massachusetts for two weeks
prior to the trip because of whooping cough and other contagious
childhood diseases.
At the school, the same was true: there were isolated from local children
because of the fear of childhood disease.
The school leveled off with 16 students, eight boys and eight girls, averaging
from 9 to 12 years of age, with the girls being somewhat older that the
boys to allow more equal participation in sports. It was meant to be preparatory
school, but some students stayed through the second year of high school.
Two male and tow female college counselors attended the students.
The school had resident teachers that provided instruction in French,
music and art, among other things. Each child had a horse; riding was
used as a tool to build discipline, instill confidence and encourage good
studies. The school has such an excellent reputation that is student were
accepted into Andover and Milton, two of the finest preparatory schools,
without pre-admission testing.
The school closed in 1941. The two teachers were exhausted from the full
day it took to run the school. They also felt that they had done it for
long enough and it was time for something new: chinchilla farming!; but
that another story altogether.
Ms Wells, a native of Massachusetts, resides at Carmel Valley Manor. The
former school site and buildings are owned by the University of California
and are used in conjunction with the research that takes place at the
Hastings Natural History Reservation.