History

For 100 years, Castilleja school has been one of the finest independent schools for girls in the country. 

Miss Mary Ishbel Lockey, a school teacher from Montana, founded Castilleja School in 1907. Dr. David Starr Jordan, first President of Stanford University, encouraged Miss Lockey to start an all girls preparatory school. He thought that a school was needed to prepare young women to enter Stanford. The school was started with 14 teachers and 68 students, many of whom were boys in lower grades. There were seven resident students. Three years after opening, Miss Lockey purchased the land bounded by Bryant, Melville, Kellogg and Emerson Streets, Castilleja’s present site. The Palo Alto Times announced the opening of the new school as “...the finest private school on the Pacific coast.” Soon after the Administration building was completed, the Circle was laid out as well.

Under Miss Lockey’s leadership the school grew in size and served the community well, until the early 1930s. Before the depression, many additions were made to the campus. About the time of the depression, a loan of $50,000 was secured to build a gymnasium. It has been noted that during that same year, Miss Lockey carried half of her enrollment without tuition, because these students were unable to pay because of their families’ hardships during that era. She wanted the seniors to graduate who had already spent several years at the school. Records indicate that Miss Lockey never fully recovered from this financial hardship. She was principal and proprietor of the school until her death in 1939. The school was bankrupt by 1941.

Miss Margarita Espinosa, former Castilleja student, became principal in January of 1941. Faculty consented to finish that year without a salary in order to graduate the seniors. Donations from parents helped the school get through this difficult time. Without such dedicated parents and loyal faculty members, the school might have had to close. In 1942, through efforts of the Lockey family, parents of students, and alumnae from the school, the school was incorporated as a nonprofit institution under a Board of Trustees. During that same year, Castilleja became a member of the California Association of Independent Schools. 

A 1952 issue of The Tall Tree from the Palo Alto Historical Association describes how spring gatherings were celebrated in the early days of the school: “the picturesque round lawn, traditionally known as ‘the Circle,’ was also laid out then (1910). For many years, buggy-loads of townsfolk and university freshmen converged on this beautiful carpet of green to applaud the colorful May fêtes, when maidens capered daintily in proper white stockinged feet over the grass in festivities climaxed by singing and fluttered winding of the Maypole.” Although we no longer have those May fête gatherings, Miss Lockey lives on in the memories of those who knew her and in the traditions and ideals of the school she loved. Castilleja is a tribute to Miss Lockey, and to all the loyal persons whose faith, vision, and loyal support have contributed to its position as one of the finest independent schools for girls in the country.