It is the middle of August and for seasoned folks it seems strange that is back to school time. For years, schools did start until fall, or least in September after Labor Day.
Like many Lassen County rural schools, the Constantia School District in southern Lassen County had its own story. In 1897 and 1898 the Warm Springs and Junction Schools were formally declared closed by the Superintendent of Schools. Due to that circumstance, no school existed in the extreme southern portion of Lassen County. In 1904, F.C. McDiarmid petitioned the County Superintendent of Schools, J.F. Dixon, to form a new school district in the southernmost portion of Lassen County. McDiarmid cited there were 21 school age children in the proposed district and that the majority of these children resided more than ten miles from the nearest schoolhouse. McDiarmid’s petition was submitted on March 14th and required urgent attention. State law required all new districts be formed before the 5th of April of any year. Dixon urged the Board of Supervisors to approve the District and noted that the Board would need to hold a special meeting to meet the State deadline. The Board of Supervisors held a special meeting on April 4th, with three members in attendance, and approved the formation of the Constantia School District. The District boundaries included the Constantia Ranch and all the territory south to the Sierra County line.
In the fall of 1904, school commenced in the old Warm Springs schoolhouse near Red Rock Station. In the summer of 1914, that schoolhouse was destroyed by fire. The next year, the District held a special election to move the site of the school to the A. Wills homestead near Chat. In 1944, the school closed and annexed to the Long Valley School District.