Originally built in 1873 as both the school and a community center for the settlement of Orestimba, the Orestimba School also served as a Presbyterian Church on Sundays from 1876-1889. The school was moved in 1918 to become a ranch house for a local farmer. Eighty years later, in 1998, the Oristemba School was saved from demolition by the recent founding of the Newman Historical Society who acquired the building in 1995. Following a year of negotiating with the City of Newman, the Newman Historical Society was given a city-owned piece of land and in December of 2000, the Orestimba Schoolhouse was moved to where it stands today; at the site of the old Orestimba High School which was razed in the 1960s

Today, the Orestimba schoolhouse rings with the laughter of children once more, as it is now being used as the Newman Cooperative Pre-School. It also serves as the meeting site for the Newman Historical Society.