Geyserville Union School
Why it's listed
Geyserville Union School is a two-story building of poured reinforced concrete on Redwood Highway, completed in 1921 from plans drawn by San Francisco architect Henry C. Smith. It holds six classrooms, three offices and a double-height gymnasium/auditorium. Tiled roofs, arched windows, recessed entrances and stuccoed walls give it a Mission Revival and Spanish Colonial Revival character. It was the first poured concrete structure in Geyserville and one of the earliest of its kind in Sonoma County. The school grew out of the first union high school district in Sonoma County, formed in 1915, and replaced the one-room schoolhouse model. Beyond classes, the gymnasium hosted athletic games, community gatherings and University of California Extension lectures, including viticulture and farm management courses important to the local wine industry. The building also served as a polling place. At the time of listing it stood vacant, with only minor vandalism, and was slated for conversion to offices and shops.
Significance in brief: It served as the educational, social and cultural center of Geyserville and the surrounding wine-growing countryside, and housed the first union high school district in Sonoma County. It was among the first reinforced poured concrete buildings in Sonoma County and the only one of its type in Geyserville. Its Mission Revival/Spanish Colonial Revival design broke with the local late Victorian wooden architecture.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 79000558, listed October 24, 1979. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | Main St., Geyserville |
|---|---|
| County | Sonoma County |
| Listed | October 24, 1979 |
| Reference number | 79000558 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1919-1921 |
| Architect / builder | Henry C. Smith, Architect |
| Architectural style | Mission Revival/Spanish Colonial Revival |
| Areas of significance | Education, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Vacant at the time of nomination, in fair repair apart from minor vandalism such as broken windows and lack of paint; plans called for adaptive reuse as offices and specialty shops. |
| Acreage | 1.6 |
| Coordinates | 38.70781, -122.90737 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
For a publicly owned building or structure, listing mainly matters when federal funds, permits or licences are involved: projects then go through Section 106 review so effects on the property are considered. Listing also strengthens applications for preservation grants and, for leased income-producing uses, can enable the federal rehabilitation tax credit.
Noted as vacant in the nomination. Nomination documents can be decades old; current status may differ. If you are considering buying an empty listed property, read the due-diligence checklist.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 79000558.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q14682010
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.