Fresno County church history unclear

Question: What was the oldest church in Fresno County?

– Mabelle Selland, Fresno

Answer: The first church in Fresno County is believed to have been in Centerville but the building no longer stands, according to a 1979 Fresno Bee story.

Centerville’s old church building was used by the Assembly of God congregation until 1961. At that time, the building was believed to have been about 100 years old. Centerville was originally called Scottsburg, founded in 1854, and the church could have been organized around that time.

The Academy Methodist Church, founded in 1869, is the second-oldest church in Fresno County. The church, which still holds services, is the oldest continually worshipping congregation in the county, according to historian and church member Peggy Bos of Clovis.

Q: What is the history of the Bullard Grammar School that stood on the southwest corner of Palm and Shaw avenues?

– Wanita Keeney, Fresno

A: The original Bullard Elementary School was built in 1915 close to the intersection of Palm and Shaw avenues. The school ceased operation in 1951, and what had been the Bullard district merged with the Fresno Unified School District in 1958.

The original school is believed to have been torn down sometime after 1951 and replaced by the current campus.

The Fresno school district closed the current Bullard Elementary campus in 1980. In 1982, a small portion of the 10-acre campus bordering Shaw Avenue, which had been part of the playground and parking lot, was sold to a company located on Shaw for $335,000. The business used the land for parking.

The Bullard Elementary buildings were leased to the Fresno County Schools and became Cook School, a special-education campus.

In 1983, the Fresno Unified school board voted to move Project TALENT, a kindergarten to eighth-grade arts and humanities magnet program, from Holland Elementary School to the Bullard campus. Cook School moved to the Hamilton School campus.

More on Farmers Market: After the answer about the Farmers Market on Divisadero Street ran on Dec. 7, Ted Morgan, a staff member at the Fresno Rescue Mission, wrote with more information about the windmill that once stood on the roof above the Iran restaurant at the market.

“The windmill now serves as a backdrop to The Academy, the men’s rehabilitation program of the Rescue Mission,” Morgan wrote.

“It was given to the Rev. Jim Taylor, former director of the Rescue Mission. It was fixed up, restored and repainted and today it is a favorite background for photos.”

By Paula Lloyd / The Fresno Bee