The terra cotta owl was placed above the front entrance to the new Orland High School main building in 1914. OHS was a mere 19 years old at the time being started in the fall of 1895 and holding classes in the upstairs of the 1884 Victorian School owned by the Orland elementary school district. The curriculum was a three year program so there were no graduates and no OHS alumni until the summer of 1898. Now many thousands have passed through the halls and are proud graduates of OHS.