In 1868, when Salinas’ founders needed a teacher, they turned to Sophronia Harvey, who was not only First Mayor Isaac Julian Harvey’s daughter but also the town’s one and only teacher with a State certificate. They set her up in a store, with a few “homemade tables and chairs”, a few students, and a salary of $60 per month She made the most of it. Her legacy continues today. Sophronia Elizabeth Harvey was born in New Castle, Indiana in 1848. After the family moved to Salinas City, Sophronia became the first teacher in the first school organized by Salinas City Elementary School District. The school consisted of an old saloon, an unpainted, board shack, with a few chairs, boxes and table, and just nine students, including her youngest sister, Mabel.The Sophronia Harvey Education Center will be dedicated at a ribbon cutting ceremony on November 6th at 11am at the First Mayor’s House in Salinas. Salinas Mayor Joe Gunter, Jim Albanese and FMH Advisor, Ruth Andresen are expected to speak at the ceremony. The center will be used to hold teacher workshops designed to develop opportunities for history-social science educators in Salinas, using local history to improve student literacy. The center will support a model outreach program developed with UC Berkeley History Social Science Project and Salinas City Elementary School District, to help students use primary sources to understand and write about local history. The FMH will also use the center in conjunction with Cal State University, Monterey Bay to support the House as a laboratory for Museum Studies students.
In addition, eighteen local 3rd grade teachers are registered for a Teachers’ Institute which will be conducted in three sessions. November 6th is the first session of the first Institute. The House was home to Salinas' First Mayor, Isaac Julian Harvey, his wife Sarah and their children. Their home has been restored and their documents, photographs, clothes and furniture have been preserved, giving us a rare glimpse of an early Salinas family. Today, it is one of only ten homes that still exist from that period and it is the only one that operates as a museum and cultural heritage center for local schools. When local school children visit and take part in hands-on activities, the past comes to life.
The mission of the First Mayor's House is to bring the past to life for the benefit of local school children, and to bring the future to life for the Salinas Railroad Museum, stimulating the development of the new cultural/heritage and intermodal transportation center. Individuals may learn more about the First Mayor’s House online at www.firstmayorshouse.org There they will find videos, historic photos and the ability to make a secure online contribution to the organization which is a registered 501c3 nonprofit organization.