San Lorenzo Schools

San Lorenzo Grammar School

The first school building in San Lorenzo was constructed in 1859. Prior to that classes had been held in a portable room built on a wagon. The mobile classroom went back and forth between San Lorenzo and Hayward. The new school was near the "Four Corners" where all the local businesses were located. By 1902 a larger building was needed, so a two-story wood building was constructed on the same site. When an arsonist burned down the wood building, it was replaced with a brick structure. That building was in use until 1952, when it was closed because it was not earthquake safe. Now the site of that school is the home of the school district office at College and Usher.

Population Boom Brings More Students

When some of the orchards were turned into housing tracts in the 1910s and 1920s, more schools were needed. Ashland Elementary School was built in 1923 and Sunset Elementary School in 1926.

San Lorenzo Library

The San Lorenzo library was the first official branch of the Alameda County library system. It was established in 1910. The first San Lorenzo library was in the Village Hall. It then moved to its own building at Hesperian and Sycamore around 1930. A new library building was constructed around 1945 next to the firehouse on Paseo Grande. A few years later the building was bought by a church and moved to Hacienda & Via Toledo. The current library is behind the Village Association building.

San Lorenzo High

San Lorenzo students had to travel to Hayward to go to High School until the 1950s. San Lorenzo High School had it's ground breaking in 1950 and opened for classes in 1952. The first class to complete all four years at San Lorenzo High was the class of 1956. The school was originally part of the Hayward Union High District.