Wasn’t the Frankton area settled earlier than the HR area? No one room school for these famlies. That is a large and well built school for 1888.
Beautiful double hung windows, but from my experience, the top half is not down on purpose. Seems like the weights would never keep them closed tight and they would sag down.
Arlen Sheldrake
Wonder what the bell looked like at the top of that rope?? I also wonder what they did with all that building space. Lots of different grade levels for one teacher to handle. Neat picture!
charlott
Does anyone know if this particular building was located where the present Frankton School is?
nels
Just about the nicest looking school, architecturally, I have ever seen. And being 2 stories is another startling design. Could it have been used for community meetings, dances, etc.? And the carpenters evidently were of high skill to do so much finish work beyond the basic utilitarian usually seen on schools of that era.
Arthur
It is a beautifully proportioned and detailed building. Click on the "schools" tag to the left to compare with other schools in the valley.
l.e.
I found this in History of Early Pioneer Families by Mrs. D.M. Coon. The question is…. Are we looking at a church or a school?
"BELMONT M.E. CHURCH 1886 Data furnished by Mrs. F.C. Sherrieb.
Rev. W.C. Gray, pastor of The Dalles M.E. Church, organized the Belmont M.E. Church at the Frankton school house on May 16, 1886. The charter members were: Mrs. C.H. Soesbe, Mrs. Helen S. Smith, Mrs. E.S. La France, Mrs. Alma Howe, Mrs. Inge Nickelsen, Mrs. E.A. Potter and F.C. Sherrieb. Rev. Frank Spaulding was the first pastor. His successors have been: E.G. Davis, W.O. Benadon, Lee A. Johnson, W.S. Hodgson, F.L. Johns, T.D. Gregory, J.F. Hays, J.G. Alford, A.W. Bagley, W.L. Dillinger, T.H. Clark, Mr. Bronson, B.F. Brown, H.J. Wood, Mr. Chandler and M.L. Anderson. The building was erected in 1886, completed and dedicated in August 1887. Mr. Sherrieb hauled the lumber and Mr. Potter did most of the carpenter work. The cost was $1,300 and it was free of debt when dedicated. This was the first church edifice erected in Hood River."
l.e.
Reading other HR history, the first Methodist meetings were held at the Frankton school and then in 1886 the congregation constructed a church at Belmont and Methodist Lane.
l.e.
From "History of Central Oregon",
"The first school house erected in this vicinity was located two miles south of the present site of the town of Hood River, in 1863. The initial teacher was Mr. B. A. Lilly and the school had an attendance of about fifteen pupils. Until 1881 this was the only school. That year a two story school house was built at Frankton by subscription."
It sounds like Ezra Smith who arrived in 1876 donated the land for the school, so probably the Frankton School has remained in the same area. Students from Ruthton would climb the bluff to attend Frankton.
Bill P.
Arthur, I have written the history of Frankton School, which was my alma mater that is on file in the Museum. This is the second strucure after using a room in a residence. The current structure is the fourth building used as Frankton School on dedicated land set aside for education in the early platting of the Frankton district. A great and unusual history of the time.Bill P.
Jeffrey Bryant
Hood River Glacier, 1926-03-18, page 6 – “The old school house, which was moved off the school grounds when the present school building was erected, has been purchased by Charles Miller, who will take it down and with the lumber build a neat cottage to occupy its present site, just across the road south of the school grounds. This old school house was built in 1880 and in its day was the most pretentious school building in Wasco county outside of The Dalles. It was built by private subscription. The school district had free use of the building for about 10 years, when the district took it over and paid the contributors 50 cents on the dollar. Oldtimers will regret to se the landmark removed.” https://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/sn97071110/1926-03-18/ed-1/seq-6/
Nancy Petersen
Hettie Radliff was a student there 1906, i have a school program, pictures but it does not look like I can share them here
l.e.
Wasn’t the Frankton area settled earlier than the HR area?
No one room school for these famlies. That is a large and well built school for 1888.
Beautiful double hung windows, but from my experience, the top half is not down on purpose. Seems like the weights would never keep them closed tight and they would sag down.
Arlen Sheldrake
Wonder what the bell looked like at the top of that rope?? I also wonder what they did with all that building space. Lots of different grade levels for one teacher to handle. Neat picture!
charlott
Does anyone know if this particular building was located where the present Frankton School is?
nels
Just about the nicest looking school, architecturally, I have ever seen. And being 2 stories is another startling design. Could it have been used for community meetings, dances, etc.? And the carpenters evidently were of high skill to do so much finish work beyond the basic utilitarian usually seen on schools of that era.
Arthur
It is a beautifully proportioned and detailed building. Click on the "schools" tag to the left to compare with other schools in the valley.
l.e.
I found this in History of Early Pioneer Families by Mrs. D.M. Coon.
The question is….
Are we looking at a church or a school?
"BELMONT M.E. CHURCH 1886
Data furnished by Mrs. F.C. Sherrieb.
Rev. W.C. Gray, pastor of The Dalles M.E. Church, organized the Belmont M.E. Church at the Frankton school house on May 16, 1886.
The charter members were: Mrs. C.H. Soesbe, Mrs. Helen S. Smith, Mrs. E.S. La France, Mrs. Alma Howe, Mrs. Inge Nickelsen, Mrs. E.A. Potter and F.C. Sherrieb. Rev. Frank Spaulding was the first pastor.
His successors have been: E.G. Davis, W.O. Benadon, Lee A. Johnson, W.S. Hodgson, F.L. Johns, T.D. Gregory, J.F. Hays, J.G. Alford, A.W. Bagley, W.L. Dillinger, T.H. Clark, Mr. Bronson, B.F. Brown, H.J. Wood, Mr. Chandler and M.L. Anderson.
The building was erected in 1886, completed and dedicated in August 1887. Mr. Sherrieb hauled the lumber and Mr. Potter did most of the carpenter work. The cost was $1,300 and it was free of debt when dedicated. This was the first church edifice erected in Hood River."
l.e.
Reading other HR history, the first Methodist meetings were held at the Frankton school and then in 1886 the congregation constructed a church at Belmont and Methodist Lane.
l.e.
From "History of Central Oregon",
"The first school house erected in this vicinity was located two miles south of the present site of the town of Hood River, in 1863. The initial teacher was Mr. B. A. Lilly and the school had an attendance of about fifteen pupils. Until 1881 this was the only school. That year a two story school house was built at Frankton by subscription."
It sounds like Ezra Smith who arrived in 1876 donated the land for the school, so probably the Frankton School has remained in the same area. Students from Ruthton would climb the bluff to attend Frankton.
Bill P.
Arthur, I have written the history of Frankton School, which was my alma mater that is on file in the Museum. This is the second strucure after using a room in a residence. The current structure is the fourth building used as Frankton School on dedicated land set aside for education in the early platting of the Frankton district. A great and unusual history of the time.Bill P.
Jeffrey Bryant
Hood River Glacier, 1926-03-18, page 6 – “The old school house, which was moved off the school grounds when the present school building was erected, has been purchased by Charles Miller, who will take it down and with the lumber build a neat cottage to occupy its present site, just across the road south of the school grounds. This old school house was built in 1880 and in its day was the most pretentious school building in Wasco county outside of The Dalles. It was built by private subscription. The school district had free use of the building for about 10 years, when the district took it over and paid the contributors 50 cents on the dollar. Oldtimers will regret to se the landmark removed.”
https://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/sn97071110/1926-03-18/ed-1/seq-6/
Nancy Petersen
Hettie Radliff was a student there 1906, i have a school program, pictures but it does not look like I can share them here