Immediately below is an original photograph of the area around what is today the intersection of Duval and Robleda - just near to where Robleda goes underneath Highway 280.We don't know who took the photo, or what the date was. We do however have class photos showing pupils at the school dating from 1935 and 1936, so the scene as shown here existed long before the Town was incorporated in January 1956.
In May of 2026 a request was made to help find a suitable historic image or anecdote to fill a half page in the Town Newsletter. A brief exploration of the digital archives identified the following candidate.A newspaper article on Dec 12th 1980 reported on a painting of the Purissima School property that was created by local artist Dwight Carey, The painting was donated to the Town of Los Altos Hills by the Los Altos Hills Historical Society on the occasion of the Town's 25th Avnniversary
The subject and composition of this painting was clearly inspired by the original photo image shown immediately above.
Here is an image of the news article found in an archived scrapbook. (The name of the newspaper that this was printed is unknown, but it was probably The Town Crier)
In view of the planning at that time for the Town's upcoming 70th anniversary, a search for the original painting was initiated as it might be interesting to bring to the viewing public again.It was soon found safely stored with other historic materials in the town's Corporation Yard.
The windmill and water tower on the left have disappeared but the small building still survives and now has a flagpole next to it (which also serves as a telephone cell-tower in disguise).The old schoolhouse building on the right was successively renovated and expanded over the years to where it is now the home for St Lukes Chapel in the Hills.