The Town of Hardwick
Michael Semas of Hanford has generously allowed me to use some of his photos on this page. Some of the Hardwick Grammar School photos can also be seen on the Laton High School web site at: http://latonhighschool.org/ or more specifically on the grammar school pages at: http://latonhighschool.org/hardwick-grammar-school.html
The Hardwick Grammar School was first known as the Kingston School. The first school was possibly located on the south side of the Kings River in Fresno County in the small community of Kingston, near the current Kings River Bridge south of Laton. There are a few articles that indicate that the school started out on the north side of the Kings River but that seems odd when the town of Laton wasn't even there yet. There were a few other schools on the North side of the river; Grant, Conejo and Duke. It seems odd that the Kingston School would have been "Kingston" if it was on the north side of the river. Going back to some early history, the school may have been established as early as 1860 on the north side of the Kings River but soon after was moved to the south side of the river onto property recently owned by Simon Hetjonk that now is in Kings County. It appears the first school attended by students in what is now Kings County was Kingston.
From the Collection of Michael J. Semas
When the railroad was laid out through the area around 1876, the settlement was named Hardwick after the construction foreman. The community of Kingston faded and the schoolhouse was moved to Hardwick and was still referred to as the Kingston School for several years. Following a heated battle between Kings and Fresno counties, 118 square miles of territory was added to Kings County by an act of the California Legislature in 1909. This territory lay along the Kings River and contained the location of old Kingston and Hardwick. One allegation was made that the schools would lose their funding and not be able to operate. The Kings County Board of Supervisors promptly passed a resolution stating this was not the case and that adequate funding would be available.
A letter to Mrs. Dan Van Beek, dated May 22, 1967, from an eighty-three year old gentleman named Walter M. Carter, who was a graduate of Hardwick in 1898, states as follows: "A man by the name of Page owned all the land around there at the time. Page was a partner of Leland Stanford the railroad magnet. In 1893, Page decided to colonize that land so he surveyed out the town site of Hardwick and built the old schoolhouse and sold three lots in the town site. Mr. Page donated the old bell and brought it down from San Francisco. It remained in the old schoolhouse until approximately 1914 when it was moved into the new schoolhouse."
This recollection is confusing because the early schoolhouse, that gave the appearance of an old haunted house (see above), was definitely moved from Kingston to Hardwick. However, the location of that old schoolhouse, after it was moved to Hardwick, may not have necessarily been where the new school was built in 1914.
A letter to Mrs. Dan Van Beek, dated May 22, 1967, from an eighty-three year old gentleman named Walter M. Carter, who was a graduate of Hardwick in 1898, states as follows: "A man by the name of Page owned all the land around there at the time. Page was a partner of Leland Stanford the railroad magnet. In 1893, Page decided to colonize that land so he surveyed out the town site of Hardwick and built the old schoolhouse and sold three lots in the town site. Mr. Page donated the old bell and brought it down from San Francisco. It remained in the old schoolhouse until approximately 1914 when it was moved into the new schoolhouse."
This recollection is confusing because the early schoolhouse, that gave the appearance of an old haunted house (see above), was definitely moved from Kingston to Hardwick. However, the location of that old schoolhouse, after it was moved to Hardwick, may not have necessarily been where the new school was built in 1914.
-------------------- Plaque reads, "Bell dedicated to students and faculty of Hardwick Elementary School 1892 - 1963" ----------------- Donated by Hardwick Volunteer Fire Dept.
The schoolhouse that Mr. Page constructed had the appearance of an elegant country farmhouse rather than the austere square schoolhouses of that era. Mr. Elmer Gallup, a farmer in the area, scraped the area with his team and scrapers to help "Charly" King re-plot the community in 1909. By this time, Walter Gallup owned the town site of Hardwick. Mr King built stores and a bank. The bank was robbed a number of times and in the early 20th century it closed and, eventually, became a community hall.
In an interview with Ione Hooker Reed, she stated that her mother graduated from the ninth grade at the Hardwick School in 1899. She also stated that the schoolhouse that Mr. Page built was purchased by Fran Johnson and moved to 1/8 mile south of Elder Avenue on 14th Avenue, about 600 feet back in the field. It was remodeled and occupied by Mr. Johnson and his wife, Hope Pyburn. Mrs. Johnson was a teacher in Armona.
The school that was built in 1914 continued in service until Hardwick and Kings River unionized in 1962. The school site to the west of the community on Excelsior Avenue is now used as a Kings County fire station. The bell that Mr. Page donated is now on the property of the fire station. Majestic valley oak trees were a part of the charm of the area.
In an interview with Ione Hooker Reed, she stated that her mother graduated from the ninth grade at the Hardwick School in 1899. She also stated that the schoolhouse that Mr. Page built was purchased by Fran Johnson and moved to 1/8 mile south of Elder Avenue on 14th Avenue, about 600 feet back in the field. It was remodeled and occupied by Mr. Johnson and his wife, Hope Pyburn. Mrs. Johnson was a teacher in Armona.
The school that was built in 1914 continued in service until Hardwick and Kings River unionized in 1962. The school site to the west of the community on Excelsior Avenue is now used as a Kings County fire station. The bell that Mr. Page donated is now on the property of the fire station. Majestic valley oak trees were a part of the charm of the area.
Hardwick Methodist Church - 1910
From the collection of Michael J. Semas
This church eventually served as the Hardwick Library. It was later torn down due to earthquake retrofitting that would have been required. Can anyone give me a year that this would have happened? Email Linda at LatonHigh@comcast.net
Main Street Hardwick ca 1910 - 1915
From the collection of Michael J. Semas
Web Master Linda's Note: I am trying to determine an approximate date of this photo from an acquaintance who is a member of a Model T Club. Hopefully, by dating the automobile, it will help me to determine an approximate date of the photo. I'm wondering who could have owned such a nice car. Possibly it belonged to Mr. Page as he would have been one of the few who was wealthy enough to own this beautiful automobile. Most likely, there were only a few automobiles in the area at the time. At this point, I'm guessing that the photo was taken some time around 1915.
I grew up in Hardwick in the '40s and '50s. I realized that our house was on the property where one of these buildings once stood. The General Store that's to the immediate left was owned by J.E. Moore and was later sold to Manuel Homen, however, I'm not sure if there was an owner in between. Mr. Moore then opened another store down the block on the corner of 1st Street and Excelsior Avenue. It was located on the corner across from the railroad tracks and the package shed. The store was eventually sold to Jack and Marge Fisher. After the Bank (Post Office) was sold, the post office was set up in the Moore's store and Mrs. Burns was the Post Master.
The building with the striped canopy must have been torn down or burned at some point in the '20s or '30s then in the late 40s or early 50s, Ernest Perry built a skating rink on that site which burned down a few years later. I learned, after I created this page, that there had been 2 arson fires in Hardwick during the 1920s. Apparently, each time, it took out the whole block where there were buildings constructed from wood. I had first thought that our house was on the property where the G. W. Hewitt General Merchandise and Implements store had been but the more I study the photo, I realized that there was too much space between the old Moore store and the west side of the Hardwick Bank/Post Office. ( The Post Office had earlier been the Bank then later became the Community Hall. but it was earlier referred to as the King Building.) When we lived there, there was only our house and an empty lot between the Community Hall and the Homen's store. It appears in the photo that the King Building/Hall (bank, post office) was narrower then I remembered but then I remembered how the Hall was laid out. There were basically two identical halves with a large doorway in the wall that connected to the two halves. I've come to the conclusion that most likely an identical addition was added to west side of the Hall, bank, post office probably during the late '20s or '30s. In the fires, the buildings were destroyed but the stones that were part of the store fronts were later used to expand the King Building/hall/bank/post office to twice it's original size. That would explain the smaller space between the Bank and J. E. Moore's store in more recent years compared to the above photo. Once the King Building/Hall was doubled in size, there would have been only room for our house and Ernie Perry's skating rink between the Hall and Homen's store. Our house would have been in the lot where the building without a name on the front. The canopied building would have been where the addition to the Hall was constructed. Eddie Miguel related to me that there had been a hotel in that area and I just realized that the photo (above) shows the word "Hotel" printed on the window near the west end of Moore's store. Eventually, the hotel closed and Moore took over that hotel space to expand his store. The area that had originally been J. E. Moore's store later was used as a beer hall that was also connected to the store.
Also, I recently learned that there was another skating rink in Hardwick in 1918. The fires in the early 20s could have easily taken out that skating rink. I suspect that it was between the east side of the Hall and the garage. There was a slab of concrete there and could have worked for a small rink. As kids we cleaned off the slab and used it to skate on until the big boys took it over. When they got tired of it, we took it back. Linda at LatonHigh@comcast.net
I grew up in Hardwick in the '40s and '50s. I realized that our house was on the property where one of these buildings once stood. The General Store that's to the immediate left was owned by J.E. Moore and was later sold to Manuel Homen, however, I'm not sure if there was an owner in between. Mr. Moore then opened another store down the block on the corner of 1st Street and Excelsior Avenue. It was located on the corner across from the railroad tracks and the package shed. The store was eventually sold to Jack and Marge Fisher. After the Bank (Post Office) was sold, the post office was set up in the Moore's store and Mrs. Burns was the Post Master.
The building with the striped canopy must have been torn down or burned at some point in the '20s or '30s then in the late 40s or early 50s, Ernest Perry built a skating rink on that site which burned down a few years later. I learned, after I created this page, that there had been 2 arson fires in Hardwick during the 1920s. Apparently, each time, it took out the whole block where there were buildings constructed from wood. I had first thought that our house was on the property where the G. W. Hewitt General Merchandise and Implements store had been but the more I study the photo, I realized that there was too much space between the old Moore store and the west side of the Hardwick Bank/Post Office. ( The Post Office had earlier been the Bank then later became the Community Hall. but it was earlier referred to as the King Building.) When we lived there, there was only our house and an empty lot between the Community Hall and the Homen's store. It appears in the photo that the King Building/Hall (bank, post office) was narrower then I remembered but then I remembered how the Hall was laid out. There were basically two identical halves with a large doorway in the wall that connected to the two halves. I've come to the conclusion that most likely an identical addition was added to west side of the Hall, bank, post office probably during the late '20s or '30s. In the fires, the buildings were destroyed but the stones that were part of the store fronts were later used to expand the King Building/hall/bank/post office to twice it's original size. That would explain the smaller space between the Bank and J. E. Moore's store in more recent years compared to the above photo. Once the King Building/Hall was doubled in size, there would have been only room for our house and Ernie Perry's skating rink between the Hall and Homen's store. Our house would have been in the lot where the building without a name on the front. The canopied building would have been where the addition to the Hall was constructed. Eddie Miguel related to me that there had been a hotel in that area and I just realized that the photo (above) shows the word "Hotel" printed on the window near the west end of Moore's store. Eventually, the hotel closed and Moore took over that hotel space to expand his store. The area that had originally been J. E. Moore's store later was used as a beer hall that was also connected to the store.
Also, I recently learned that there was another skating rink in Hardwick in 1918. The fires in the early 20s could have easily taken out that skating rink. I suspect that it was between the east side of the Hall and the garage. There was a slab of concrete there and could have worked for a small rink. As kids we cleaned off the slab and used it to skate on until the big boys took it over. When they got tired of it, we took it back. Linda at LatonHigh@comcast.net
Main Street Hardwick ca 1930s
From the collection of Michael J. Semas