This is an interesting photo and it has an intriguing story to go with it.
On the bottom of the photo in archives of the California Historical Society that have been digitized by the University of Southern California, someone wrote: “High School buss” and the image was later tagged as dating from around 1909. The historic image was even published with an article about the history of school buses in an article in Smithsonian magazine published in September 2022.
The caption with the photo stated simply: “Students pack the Antelope Valley Union High School’s first bus in northern Los Angeles County circa the 1910s.”
That caption was getting closer to the truth, but Antelope Valley Union High School was not established until 1912. And according to a Facebook post by the city of Palmdale on Dec. 5, 2019, the school bus photo actually dates from 1919. The 1909 labeling in digital archives is believed to have been a clerical error.
In a message posted on Antelope Valley High School’s website, current Principal Lisa Schmidt notes that the school is the oldest school in Antelope Valley Union High School District.
“In the beginning, due to the large geographic area covered by AVHS, students would ride busses to school on Monday, stay in dormitories, and return home on Friday.”
Today, Antelope Valley Union High School District operates eight comprehensive high schools, three alternative high schools and an early college high school in partnership with Antelope Valley Community College. About 22,000 students from throughout the Antelope Valley are enrolled.
More information about the district is online at avdistrict.org.