B2
History
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, September 26, 2018
Can you
name these
historic
items?
SCHOOLS
Continued from Page B1
schoolhouses that dotted
the landscape were no lon-
ger needed, while schools
in towns were expanded to
accommodate larger enroll-
ments.
In 1947, opening day
at
Mt.
Ve r n o n
School
was de-
layed
a
few weeks
due to ad-
ditions
Eagle photo
b e i n g
completed The
for a new Cummingsville
gym and School today.
two “mod-
ern” class-
rooms “to accommodate the
pupils who last year filled
the old building to over-
flowing,” according to the
Sept. 5, 1947, edition of the
Eagle.
The next year, Canyon
City schools had what was
at that time the largest en-
rollment on record — 79
compared to 60 the year
before. Remodeling work
was finishing up as classes
began the new school year.
In fact, schools through-
out Grant County were
bursting at the seams in
1948. Seneca, with more
housing opportunities, saw
a jump from 110 to 137 over
the course of a year. Monu-
ment School saw its largest
enrollment ever with 81 stu-
dents in all grades, accord-
ing to the Sept. 17, 1948,
Trivia 1
Contributed photo/Grant County Historical Museum
Seventh- and eighth-grade students at Mt. Vernon School, 1931 and 1932. Seventh-
graders included Gayle Stockdale, Irma Ingle, Juanita Wheeler, Bob Athey, Mona
Parrish, Pauline Thompson and Lois Yokom, not pictured. Eighth-graders included
Wilson Jenkins, Violet Hammons, Francis Kiehn, Lillian Lemmons, Laura Dunn, Dollie
Fletcher, Buster Hogeland, Dean Athy, George Harper, Anona Lee Hinshaw, Juanita
Lofton, Dolena Vae Ingle and Wilfred Masson.
Eagle photo
The school bell from the
first Prairie City School that
was at the corner of Front
and Main streets is now
on display at the DeWitt
Museum in Prairie City.
Here’s a list of some of the
small schoolhouses that, at one
time or another, were scattered
across Grant County:
• Old Rebel School, 1864 — On Rebel Hill in Canyon
City
• Moon Creek School, 1876 — Between Mt. Vernon and
Dayville
• Brownlee School, 1880
• Marysville School, 1880 — On French Charlie Hill
(now Dog Creek Road)
• Indian Creek School, 1887 — On Indian Creek Road
• Winegar School, 1890 — In Winegar Gulch, south of the
Alfred Coombs Ranch, later moved to where the Riverside
School stands today
• Meador School, 1890s — Three miles above Prairie City
• Strawberry Creek School, 1893 — West of the Roger
Kent Ranch
• Silvies School, 1898
• Bear Valley Lodge 1 School (District 37), 1900s —
Served Seneca and Camp 1
• Bates School, 1900s
• Round Basin School, 1900s — Near Monument
• Junction School, 1910 — Kimberly
• Cottonwood Creek School, 1900s
• Cammingville School, 1900s — On Dry Creek near
Moon Creek
• Izee School, 1900s — In Walker Gulch, later moved to
the old McCoffery home
• Cant Ranch, 1917 — School held on the third floor of
the Cant family home
• Dixie Creek School — Near the Ernie Ricco Ranch
• Lofton School — Fox Valley, log schoolhouse located in
the Fox Cemetery, one of four one-room schools in Fox
• Andy Thompson School — Below Blue Mountain
Springs on the Thompson homestead
• Lone Rock School — In the Cross Hollow District
• Carter School — Three miles east of Long Creek
• Cummingsville School — Halfway between Dayville
and Mt. Vernon
• Logdell School — Bear Valley
• Ritter, Range and Three-Mile schools — In the Ritter
area
Contributed photo/Grant County Historical Museum
Students from John Day School stand in line on the
playground in 1916.
edition of the Eagle issue.
In 1963, extensive addi-
tions were made to Prairie
City and Humbolt schools.
In 1978, Long Creek School
gained a new football field
— with goal posts.
A few of the old school
buildings are still stand-
ing, though abandoned,
like the Cummingsville
School, on the north side
of Highway 26, 11.5 miles
east of Dayville, and the
Bates School, which is
now on the Prairie City
School property. Some
have been transformed into
new lives. The Riverside
School, southeast of Prai-
rie City is a bed and break-
fast, and the Silvies Valley
School, 10 miles south of
Seneca on Highway 395,
became a wayside historic
picnic area in 2014.
However,
standing
or abandoned, those old
schoolhouses hold end-
less memories for those
who passed through their
doors, for those who taught
and were taught in days
gone by.
Local People
Serving You.
That’s the cooperative advantage.
Proudly serving
Grant County for 30 years.
Trivia 2
Trivia 3
Trivia 4
Trivia 5
Trivia 6
Trivia answers
150
Continued from Page B1
by W.E. Weir and J.H. Allen in
1908. Publication of the Long
Creek Ranger was suspended
in 1930.
Two other newspaper busi-
nesses existed in Grant County
during this time, according to
Turnbull’s history. Keeler H.
Gabbert began publishing the
Avalanche-Journal in 1896, but
it faded away after three years.
The Prairie City Miner began
publishing in 1912 under W.W.
Watson. It later changed its name
to the Grant County Journal.
YOUR MONEY - YOUR COMMUNITY - YOUR CREDIT UNION
A fire in Canyon City in
1937 destroyed the Chandler
& Haight printing establish-
ment, which moved to John
Day. In 1944, the John Day
Valley Ranger and the Blue
Mountain Eagle merged. Four
years later, the newspaper was
purchased by Dorothy and
Elmo Smith from Chester and
Vera Ashton.
Donna and John Moreau
bought the Blue Mountain Ea-
gle in 1968. The newspaper
merged into the East Orego-
nian Publishing Co. in 1979
and moved to a new building
on South Canyon Boulevard in
1997.
The Blue Mountain Eagle
went on online at bluemoun-
taineagle.com in 2000. The
parent company changed its
name from East Oregonian
Publishing to EO Media
Group in 2013.
1. Butter mold from
Greenhorn City, late 1800s,
at the DeWitt Museum.
2. Chinese shoe found
in a mine on Little Can-
yon Mountain, at the Grant
County Historical Museum.
3. Corn sheller, at the
Grant County Historical
Museum. The dried ears of
corn were put through this
machine. It would remove
the kernels from the cob for
planting a new crop.
4. Crumb tray and scrap-
er, early 1900s from the De-
Witt family, at the DeWitt
Museum.
5. Snow shoes for mail
carrier’s horse in the Sumpt-
er and Greenhorn area, at
the Grant County Ranch and
Rodeo Museum.
6. Shuttle, possibly used
to make fishing nets (miss-
ing spools), at the Grant
County Historical Museum.
Serving Grant County
Since 1984
Old West Member Owned
and Member Governed
Since 1957
Proud to be part of Grant
County history for the last
60 years. The only locally
owned financial institution
in Grant County
GIBCO
650 W. Main St., John Day, Oregon • (541) 575-0264
162 W. Front, Prairie City, Oregon • (541) 820-4601 • (541) 820-4725
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