The Story of Oro Valley’s Russell Ranch School and Its Lasting Legacy.
Written by Devon Sloan, October 2023
It’s OCTOBER, and school just started…at least that was the case at The Russell Ranch School in the late 1930’s.
In the early 1900’s, ranch schools became popular to provide an education to youth living in rural areas. However, wealthy Easterners soon realized they could provide their children with an opportunity to enjoy experiences not found in East coast cities. Sending their children to boarding schools that would enable them to live a life that encompassed nature, a ‘western’ style of living (think horseback riding, unfamiliar farm/ranch equipment, various chores), became a popular alternative.
Reverend Robert Russell, a minister from New York, started the Russell Ranch School and hired highly acclaimed teachers to educate students in grades 7 through 10. He and his wife were headmaster and headmistress. The school year began In October and ended in May. (No doubt the climate had much to do with that!) Although mostly a boarding school, the Russell Ranch School accommodated day students, including children of some locals you may have heard of – Laurence Rooney and Joe Bonanno, to name two.
Russell Ranch School Sign
Students from over 17 states and four foreign nations learned far more than just a western style of living (although horseback riding was very popular). Academic studies included international affairs and politics as well as the expected geography, history, math, and English classes. Hobbies and crafts were encouraged, and a building was even designed and built specifically for those skills. Additional extracurricular activities were shooting, baseball, and drama.
The school was closed in 1950 due to lack of funding, and became a guest ranch, a motel, a hippie compound, and is now a successful stables complex – the Rolling Hills Riding Academy, owned by Susan Blake. It is located on the north side right before the entrance to Catalina State Park, and many of the buildings (which include the main ranch house, dormitories, several classrooms, and a library) are still standing. Definitely worth a trip to see Oro Valley history come alive!
Stables at Rolling Hills Riding Academy, October 2023, Formerly Russell Ranch School
Love: Let Oro Valley Excel – Heather’s Corner: Russell Ranch School for Boys: An Oro Valley Legend for Those Who Attended, January 2015
Learn more about western ranch schools in this article by Kathy Montgomery in the February 2024 issue of Arizona Highways: Reading, Writing…and Ranching
Arizona Origins Facebook post, The Origins of Russell Ranch School taken from