Clarksburg community restores 1883 schoolhouse to preserve local history

For more than a decade, a community in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta has been working to restore a historic schoolhouse, creating a place where future generations can learn about the area's agricultural roots, cultural heritage and history.

The Old 1883 Clarksburg Schoolhouse restoration project aims to preserve the original building and surrounding grounds while transforming the property into a community gathering place with exhibits highlighting the region's past.

Steve Heringer, who has worked on the project for 12 years, said the effort requires the same persistence that defines the area's agricultural community.

"Farming today takes a lot of persistence and that's exactly what this is," Heringer said.

As part of the Heringer winery family, he is familiar with the work involved in preserving the delta's agricultural heritage. He said the schoolhouse project will give visitors an opportunity to experience history firsthand.

"It's not something you can pull out of a book," he said.

Plans include restoring the original 1883 schoolhouse building and preserving the original schoolhouse pole. The grounds also feature historic farming equipment, including clam buckets used during the era.

"It's how the roads and levees were built, amazing work in the late 1880s," Heringer said.

The property will also include a Native American site and an outdoor Japanese rock garden, reflecting the different communities that have shaped Clarksburg's history.

One of the project's central exhibits explores the experiences of Japanese Americans in the area, including the forced incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II.

Steve Hiromoto, who is involved with the schoolhouse project and serves as a guide for its Japanese American exhibit, said the history is personal to his family.

"My mom and dad's family were part of this. They were forced to go. You're only given a few weeks to get rid of items and settle business," Hiromoto said.

Forced internment camps in World War II devastated the Clarksburg Japanese American community, forcing families from their homes and disrupting lives and businesses.

Hiromoto said only a small portion of those who had lived in the area returned after the camps closed.

"I kept hearing it was several hundred families who once lived here, but very few relocated back after the camps closed. Only 10% to 15% returned," he said.

The restored schoolhouse features an exhibit called Roots of Resilience, documenting the history of Japanese Americans in the Clarksburg area.

Organizers hope the exhibits will help visitors understand both the community's achievements and the difficult experiences that shaped its history.

The restoration effort continues, with local Eagle Scouts helping improve parts of the property. 

Heringer said the project has benefited from strong community support.

"This is a fabulous project and something that will be endeared to the community for several centuries anyway," he said.

The Old Clarksburg Schoolhouse, located at 36446 Riverview Drive in Clarksburg, is open to the public Saturdays and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Admission is free. The Roots of Resilience exhibit is scheduled to remain on display for the next few months.

The schoolhouse also offers tours for students, including a classroom designed to resemble how it looked at the turn of the 20th century.

A community fundraising event, called Celebration of Place, is scheduled for Sunday, Oct. 18, at 2:30 p.m. at the schoolhouse. The event will raise money to support ongoing restoration efforts.