WHITEFISH CENTRAL SCHOOL
Whitefish children have attended school at this site for nearly 100 years. Central School, as it was called for most of its existence, was built in 1912 and enlarged and renovated several times after that. But at the dawn of the 21st century, the old brick building was no longer safe or viable, and the community, with its emotional attachment to this place where so many thousands of its kids were educated, approved a $10.2 million bond issue in 2003 to tear down and replace everything but the school auditorium.
Specifically, the new school was to occupy the same site as the original school and to look as much like it as possible. And with its red brick façade, it does that; however, since it is an entirely new building, it does not qualify for listing on the National Historic Register. The auditorium, the only remaining part of the original school, was completely remodeled into a modern performing-arts center.
Classes continued in Central School for two years as workers built the new school, tearing down one section and putting up another. Just before the heart of Central School was razed, everyone in Whitefish was invited to come in and help themselves to memorabilia; many of them, particularly former teachers, did. The building was finished and officially opened as Whitefish Middle School at the start of the 2006 school year.
Construction of the original Central School at this site was financed with a $25,000 bond issue, part of which was to build an elementary school in what was known as the Lakeside District and the rest for a combined elementary and high school in the center of town. The first graduating class, in 1914, consisted of one member, Dorcas Ferguson. In 1915, the school board authorized construction of a portable stable for the student's horses. A gymnasium was built in 1927. As early as 1938, the middle part of Central School was damaged by an earthquake and had to be rebuilt, with taxpayers supplying 55 percent of the cost, or $70,048, and the federal government covering the rest.
(One student of the time recalled attending school in railroad cars as the construction went on: "They took out all the seats in the cars, and they put in desks.")
The gym was destroyed by a fire in 1971 and was subsequently replaced.
After Whitefish High School was built in 1954, Central School ceased to be a high school. And in 1967, grades 1 through 4 moved to the new Muldown School, leaving grades 5 and 6 and the junior high school in the old building.
Today, Whitefish Middle School, housing grades 5 through 8, remains a pivotal point in town, separating the commercial district from the residential district. And the community still has its beloved landmark, but in a 21st century version.
Sponsored by the Stumptown Historical Society and the Whitefish Community Foundation
From the plaque at the school