The Gas Creek School, near Nathrop, Colorado in Chaffee County, Colorado, was built in 1909.[3] It was the only school in Chaffee County School District No. 20 and it operated from 1909 to 1958.[3] It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2018.[1]
Gas Creek School | |
 Schoolhouse in 2019 | |
  | |
| Location | 20925 US 285, Chaffee County, Colorado, near Nathrop, Colorado |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 38°43′22″N 106°05′09″W / 38.72278°N 106.08583°W |
| Area | 1.5 acres (0.61 ha)[2] |
| Built | 1911 |
| MPS | Rural School Buildings in Colorado MPS |
| NRHP reference No. | 100003127[1] |
| Added to NRHP | November 26, 2018 |
It is a one-story brick school building, in open land with the 14,196 feet (4,327 m) Mt. Princeton standing behind. It was built as a replacement for a wood-frame schoolhouse that was built in 1890.[2] The school is about 30 by 26 feet (9.1 m × 7.9 m) in plan and is built of orange brick atop a raised concrete foundation. It has a hipped roof and a square bell tower holding a bell which is rung by pulling on a rope.[2] It was a one-teacher one-room school, although it has two front doors.[2]
A photo of the school is included in "America’s Country Schools", a 1996 book by Andrew Gulliford, who stated: "'Built from a plan book, this school has double entrances with canopies and an ornate bell tower.'"[2] He suggested the school's symmetrical design indicated it may have been taken from a plan book. He also noted that having a belfry or bell tower "usually placed above the entrance to the schoolhouse, had become a status symbol for many school districts' by the nineteenth century."[2]
One teacher at the school was Betty Farrington, who taught fourteen students there during 1938-39 for a salary of $75 per month; there was at least one student in each grade from one to eight.[2]
The property also includes two privies, a shed, a swing set and a seesaw.[2]
The 1875 Frantz Ditch runs through its property.[2]
It was deemed significant as "an exceptionally well-preserved example of a one-room rural schoolhouse", and is unusual for being built of brick.[2]
References edit
- ^ a b "National Register of Historic Places Weekly Lists 2018" (PDF). National Park Service. Retrieved April 4, 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Thomas H. Simmons; R. Laurie Simmons; Marilyn A. Martorano (May 1, 2018). National Register of Historic Places Registration: Gas Creek School / 5CF.314 (PDF). Colorado. Retrieved April 4, 2021.
- ^ a b "Gas Creek School".
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