Those Places Thursday - Old Loon Lake School House, Loon Lake, Washington

The Loon Lake School House located in Loon Lake, Washington. My grandmother, Viola Dahl Smith taught school here in 1957

Old Loon Lake Schoolhouse

The schoolhouse was built in 1929 at a cost of $8,000. Originally, students attended this school through tenth grade. In later years, it housed only kindergarten through sixth grade. In 1992, students moved into the new elementary located behind this building. The school district sold the building to the Loon Lake Historical Society in 1993 with the stipulation that it be maintained as an historic site serving the Loon Lake community . It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1992. Currently, the Loon Lake Loon Association operates a gift shop and the Loon Lake Historical Society has a mini museum and resource room in the former classrooms. The basement is used year roundas a community center.

The LoonLake School District was established in 1889. The brick schoolhouse you see before you was the third building used by students in the district. It was constructed in 1929 at a cost of $8,000. In the early days, two classrooms were on the upper floor and the lower floor was used for a lunchroom and multi-purpose area. Through the years, many community dances were held in the basement until it was needed for additional classrooms and walls were installed. When student enrollment continued to increase, the district added two portable units behind the brick building. One of these has since been removed. In 1992, the students moved to their new school, which can be seen behind the Old Schoolhouse. The Old Schoolhouse was purchased by the Loon Lake Historical Society and volunteers spent many hours restoring the building to its original condition. It is again used by the community  for a variety of activities.