Santa Ana School was located in Santa Ana Valley in San Benito County, in the heart of farming country and in the shadow of the Santa Ana y Quien Sabe Rancho. The 127-year old one-room schoolhouse, donated to the College of Education Alumni Association, San José State University, by the Tavares Family of Hollister, provides a classroon setting for over 25,000 school children who visit History Park each year as part of their studies. It honors teachers and is a symbol of education as it was in the 1890s. The project was sponsored by the College of Education Alumni Association of San José State University and is a joint project with the History Museums of San José.

Santa Ana is typical of one room schoolhouse construction. It has two entrance doors, two cloak rooms, and two exit doors; one of each for the girls and one of each for the boys. Restroom facilities called privies were located in the back of the schoolhouse yard. Again, one for the girls and one for the boys. In the 1890s water was carried from a neighboring ranch in a pail. The students could use a community cup or have their own cup for drinking water. They would dip the water from the pail and pour it into the cup.

The first public school in the state was in San José, established in a granary in the 1790s, according to historians. Later, when ranches dominated the landscape, the one-room school house predominated. Ranchers needed schools that their children could get to easily, so many were started. Teachers of these schools were paid $4 or $5 a month and sometimes also got room and board.

During the 1800s children in rural areas of the nation would attend schools much like the Santa Ana School. The schools were located within walking distance of students' homes, which was considered to be five miles in San Benito County. Large rural areas such as San Benito County at one time had over 63 one room schoolhouses. These schools may have been built by a township. A township consisted of 36 sections of land with each section consisting of 640 acres. One section would be set aside to be sold at public auction to establish a school.

The Santa Ana School District was organized on February 6, 1871. The trustees of Santa Ana were: M. Pomeroy, L. H. Cook and R. Butts. Santa Ana School was started by raising money through subscription. Enough funds were raised to frame the structure. The school was completed in 1872 when a tax of $1,000.00 was voted to complete the school. The total cost of the schoolhouse was $2,000.00.

Grades one through eight were taught at the Santa Ana School. Some students had to work on the farm and took longer to complete school than others. Consequently, the age of the children in one classroom could range from six to eighteen. The daily lessons produced a constant buzz of voices as the students read aloud, practiced, recited, listened, wrote, and read as many as thirteen different lessons that were conducted at one time. The teacher called students forward by grade level to the recitation bench in the front of the room to give them instructions, conduct practice sessions, or listen to students as they recited their lessons.

Santa Ana School was used as a schoolhouse from 1872-1967 except for 1904-08, 1926-34, and 1946-47. A total of 54 teachers taught at Santa Ana School. It was used for the last time as a kindergarten by teacher Elizabeth Gates-Rianda from 1972-74.