El Retiro School for Girls

El Retiro School for Girls was a boarding school for girls who had been made wards of the Los Angeles County court system. It opened in 1919 and closed in 1961.

The school was established on the former property of the San Fernando Sanitarium Company, which in 1915-16 had offered "A Beautiful Remedial Home for the Treatment of Non-Infectious Diseases" like "anemia, stomach and bowel troubles, nervous disorders, liver and kidney affections, rheumatism, eczema and other skin diseases, high and low blood pressure, certain forms of heart disease, constipation and emaciation." The property was purchased for $15,000 by the county in 1918-19 to provide an "institution for unfortunate women" over the objections of many residents, the Olive Growers Association and County Supervisor Jonathan S. Dodge, who represented the district.

The county institution was not put into operation until 1919, when it was described as an "industrial home" for girls. The school was organized under county auspices by Miriam Van Waters of the Los Angeles Juvenile Court to provide a shelter for girls who "were in no way connected with crimes or misdemeanors." Besides academic subjects, the girls "composed and typed a school paper" and were able to study typing, shorthand, booking and business methods, as well as home management, cooking, table service, laundering and similar subjects. They even put on a fashion show.

In 1919 authorities of the Los Angeles City School District rejected complaints by San Fernando businessmen against the attendance by El Retiro girls at San Fernando High School. There were no complaints in future years.

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