The first school in the settlement of Libby was established in 1892 on the property where the Libby Hotel was later built. Some 15 students were the first enrolled for the three month school year taught by Mrs. E. L, Geddes. Homemade desks, and a large wood stove were the furnishings in the building that has been described as a “board shack.” By the third year, with double the enrollment, the school was joined into the Flathead County School system, and the school year was
extended to nine months.
In 1898, a spacious new building was constructed. The first year enrollment totaled 35 students, with two teachers. The following year a principal was hired. The building was a 2½- story frame structure, with large well-lit classrooms. With more than ample space at its opening, in addition to school classes, one room in the building accommodated church services and religious classes for Presbyterians and occasionally Catholics in the community.
Growth of local industries led the population to swell into the early 1900s, and soon school attendance outgrew the 1898 school building. The Libby community opted again for a new school, this time a large 2½- story brick grade school located on Lincoln Blvd. and Louisiana Ave. The Central Grade School opened in January 1909, and students returned to school following Christmas vacation that year, to a new building staffed by a principal and 7 teachers. The old school
building, meanwhile, became the Masonic Lodge.
As the school population grew up and expanded, a need for a local high school led the community (with support from the Great Northern Railway, the Forest Service association and the local sawmill) to finance and construct a large brick building. The $50,000 building was the county’s second high school, and was sited next door to Central School facing Lincoln Boulevard. While the building was under construction, the former grade school (now Masonic Temple) was
pressed back into service and high school students attended classes in the building through 1914 – 1915. When completed, the boys later recalled helping to move in by carrying their desks over to the new building.
Despite misgivings by some in the community that the new facility was larger and more elaborate than needed, the school quickly filled. State of the art facilities included science laboratories, two assembly rooms, a large gymnasium with lockers and showers for both boys and girls, and academics were broad enough to include vocational, commercial and domestic sciences. Enrollment jumped from an initial 63 students to 86 in 1918. By the mid-1920s, continued growth
in the community warranted a large addition, used for an auditorium and expanded gymnasium.
The Libby High School served the community for well over half a century. Through that time, the population of Libby schools grew along with the town, and by the mid 20th century, the district boasted a total enrollment of almost 1,900 students, the number recorded during the 1961-62 school year, when a decision was made to construct a new high school.
After being vacated by the school district, historic Libby High School was used by the Flathead Valley Community College [FVCC], housing educational courses serving Libby-area students. FVCC conducted courses there for a number of years, and in 1992 studied the feasibility of renovating the school for a long-term Lincoln County Campus.
While this was being considered, the U.S. Forest Service moved out of their existing location and into new facilities, and the FVCC decided to move into their old building. Following this move, the school has remained vacant. In recent years, the school district and the community considered demolishing the historic school, however, local residents signaled to the school district their interest in seeing the school retained. A friends group working with preservationists and private developers brought forward alternative ideas for reuse of the building and in early 2006, agreements were reached that would enable the development of the school in cooperation with the school district and other community groups.
In 2005, a Downtown Revitalization Plan developed by Libby revitalization Inc and adopted by the city created a strategy for reviving the local economy and commercial district. Libby High School and its potential for reuse was cited along with an excellent plan to bring business back to the heart of town.
This nomination helps to recognize the historic significance of the Libby High School and listing of the school in the National Register of Historic Places will support the adaptive reuse of the building.
Architectural Significance
The Libby High School is an example of the fine, permanent masonry structures designed by trained architects and built by craftsmen with the skills to erect buildings to last for more than a century. Although the design is at this time unattributed, the school is an excellent example of the artistic qualities and high levels of craftsmanship exhibited in large educational buildings of the early 19th century. Built in 1916, the functional brick building is accented with a few elements to give the school a distinctive, Collegiate Neo-Gothic flavor. Although simple, these elements do help to visually define the building and include sandstone banding and signage, the banded, multi-lit fenestration and the front façade with pedimented, tower-like entry pavilion, quoining and crowning cornice. Furthermore, the school featured many aspects of design that were in vogue at the time, with specialized classrooms for programs reflecting the
educational emphasis within this community -- domestic sciences, vocational training labs, and a fully-equipped gymnasium that included locker areas for both boys and girls.
From the Montana Memory Project