Rochester Elementary School - Rochester, Washington - U.S. National Register of Historic Places on Waymarking.com

This one-story building, built in the Colonial Revival/Georgian Revival style, of brick, still retains the characteristic 12-over-12 pane windows, dentillated cornice and molded frieze boards, and pilasters. It was built in 1936, on a poured concrete foundation, in a u-shape, with a hip roof, and replaced the earlier wooden, 2-story school which was razed. There have been some alterations to the orginal school structure but overall it still maintains the look of a 20th century educational building. Adjoining the school is the gymnasium which was built in 1936. The structure was designed by one of this region's top architects, Floyd Naramore, a gradulate of MIT (he also built scools in Seattle and Portland) in the classic rural education school type. This is the only school in Thurston County that Naramore designed.

This area was first settled in the 1850's, and the early settleres included the James family (who located at Ground Mound in 1852), the Goodells, Sarjents, and Axtells. The Ft. Henness stockade (used in the Indian Wars) was in this region. Farming and raising livestock were the principle occupations until the Northern Pacific Railroad arrived in Rochester in 1890, and the town was formally platted on the land originally owned by Julia Fleming, who named the town after her own hometown of Rochester, Indiana. Soon the town had stores, a post office, saloons, a livery stable and occupations expanded to include dairy and poultry farms, strawberry fields and timber production; and the population growth warrented a school. The original two-story wooden school as well as this brick one served children from Mima, Bordeaux, Gate, Grand Mound, Riverside, Meadows and Independence school disctricts.

Today, the building serves as administration offices, a community school and is the location of an alternative school for teenagers.

Street address: 10140 US Highway 12 SW Rochester, WA United States 98579 County / Borough / Parish: Thurston County Year listed: 1990 Historic (Areas of) Significance: Education Periods of significance: 1925-1949 Historic function: Education/school Current function: Education/school Privately owned?: no Primary Web Site: [Web Link] Secondary Website 1: [Web Link] Secondary Website 2: [Web Link] Season start / Season finish: Not listed Hours of operation: Not listed National Historic Landmark Link: Not listed

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