Imagine the bustle of a coastal settlement in the gold rush days of 1852. The air is thick with the promise of new beginnings and undreamed of possibilities. The ports of San Francisco and Benicia are the entry points by sea to this burgeoning frontier territory. These are lawless years, when ballot boxes are stuffed, homicides overlooked, courts corrupted, and crime ignored. The gold mining camps consist primarily of saloons and bars, and profanity is common.
Life is hectic and unsettled.
In this setting, in 1852, a group of citizens founded and entrusted the Young Ladies Seminary at Benicia with the educational and cultural development of their daughters. The central location of Benicia, at that time capital of the state, made it a logical place for the foundation of a pioneer school. In 1854, the trustees, hearing of her extraordinary education and experience, hired Mary Atkins as principal of the two year old school. Riding a mule, Atkins recruited students from the mining towns of Rough and Ready, Drytown, and Murphys. Daughters of miners joined the daughters of Nob Hill bankers and Sacramento merchants in the one building school.