Independent School Philomath, Oregon

Text courtesy of the National Register of Historic Places, a program of the National Parks Service. Minor transcription errors or changes in formatting may have occurred; please see the Nomination Form PDF for official text. Some information may have become outdated since the property was nominated for the Register.

The Independent School is locally significant, and is eligible for the National Register of Historic Places under Criterion A for the significant role that it has played in the educational development of the rural Benton County community from 1919 to 1952. Several individuals from within the rural community were associated with the Independent School, both as students and teachers, during its operation. An average of 15-30 students attended the Independent School at any one point during each school year, with a range of ages and grades. A single teacher was responsible for educating the students, which was a standard method of education at this time in rural one-room schoolhouses in Oregon. The schoolhouse was a self-sustaining independent entity that was directed solely by the teacher, while students would be responsible for everyday tasks including bringing wood in to stock the wood stove that once kept the occupants of the schoolhouse warm. The experiences and education that Independent School provided for its students would leave an impact on those individuals for the rest of their lives, reinforcing the effect that the Independent School had on the education of the youth and community as a whole .