Franklin School
School (left, 1905) and High School (right, 1926), from northwest in 1947
Boise is located in the United States
Boise
Boise
Location in the United States
Boise is located in Idaho
Boise
Boise
Location in Idaho
Location5007 Franklin Road
Boise, Idaho, U.S.
Coordinates43°36′09″N 116°14′38″W / 43.60250°N 116.24389°W / 43.60250; -116.24389 (Franklin School)
Area8.3 acres (3.4 ha)
Built1926 (1926)
ArchitectTourtellotte & Co., Tourtellotte & Hummel
Demolished2009 (2009)[1]
MPSBoise Public Schools TR
NRHP reference No.82000200[2]
Added to NRHPNovember 8, 1982

Franklin School was a two-story brick and stucco building in the western United States, located in Boise, Idaho. Designed by Tourtellotte & Hummel and constructed in 1926, the school featured a flat roof with a decorated concrete parapet. Added to the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) in 1982,[3] it was demolished in 2009.[4]

History

In 1876, William B. Morris established an irrigation canal from the Boise River to his property, the Morris Ranch, in an area that became Boise's Central Bench. His nephew, William H. Ridenbaugh, completed the project in 1878, and the ditch became known as the Ridenbaugh Canal. Settlers established farms in the area of the Morris Ranch, later named the Ridenbaugh Ranch, after completion of the canal. In the 1880s, Benjamin Scott purchased the Ridenbaugh Ranch, and he donated land for construction of a one-room school at the corner of Franklin and Orchard Roads.[5] Scott School was part of the community of Franklin, about three miles (5 km) west of downtown Boise City,[6] and it was the only school in District #45, the Scott School District. The schoolhouse was enlarged to two rooms in 1901;[7] by 1903, the district had 132 students, and it was ready for a larger school building.[8]

In 1905, a new school was designed for the site by Tourtellotte & Co., a two-story, five-room building with sandstone facade,[9][10] and it was known as Franklin School by 1906.[11] District #45 was renamed the Franklin School District.[12]

In 1926, Tourtellotte & Hummel designed an eight-room high school at the site, west of Franklin School.[13][14] The 1926 building, Franklin High School, was constructed by contractor L.S. Mallory,[15][16] and it was added to the NRHP in 1982.[3]

A gymnasium designed by Wayland & Fennell was added to Franklin High School in 1936,[17] and additional classrooms were added later.[3]

By a vote of 214 to 2, Franklin voters approved annexation of District #45 into the Boise Independent School District in 1947.[18] High school students from Franklin were sent to Boise High School beginning in 1948, and the name of Franklin High School was changed briefly to Fairmont Elementary School.[19] By 1952, the name had changed to Franklin Elementary School.[20] It closed in 2008,[21] and the building was demolished in 2009.[1]

Boise City Parks and Recreation purchased a portion of the property in 2013, and the corner parcel that was the site of Franklin School was purchased by Maverik, a gasoline and convenience market company.[22] Community activists opposed Maverik's plan to build an outlet at the site, and Maverik announced in January 2019 that it would sell the site.[4]

References

  1. 1 2 Bethann Stewart (August 12, 2009). "Cole, Franklin demolition may start soon - Some Boiseans have mixed feelings about the destruction of Cole, which was built in 1888". Idaho Statesman. Boise, Idaho.
  2. ↑ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. November 2, 2013.
  3. 1 2 3 "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Franklin School". National Park Service. Retrieved April 13, 2019. With accompanying pictures
  4. 1 2 Don Day (March 22, 2019). "Old Bench school site was going to be a gas station. Now, a very different plan is forming". Boise, Idaho: BoiseDev. Archived from the original on April 13, 2019. Retrieved April 13, 2019.
  5. ↑ Jim Duran (2016). "Central Bench History" (PDF). Boise Arts and History. Retrieved April 13, 2019.
  6. ↑ The Franklin community should not be confused with the town of Franklin, founded in 1860 in southeastern Idaho. See Lalia Boone (1988). Idaho Place Names. University of Idaho Press. p. 143.
  7. ↑ "School House Improvements". Idaho Statesman. Boise, Idaho. August 7, 1901. p. 8.
  8. ↑ "School District Bill". Idaho Statesman. Boise, Idaho. February 10, 1903. p. 3.
  9. ↑ "Real Estate and Building". Idaho Statesman. Boise, Idaho. June 11, 1905. p. 5.
  10. ↑ "Schoolhouse on the Bench". Idaho Statesman. Boise, Idaho. June 21, 1905. p. 6.
  11. ↑ "New Bell for Franklyn (sic) School". Idaho Statesman. Boise, Idaho. January 30, 1906. p. 3.
  12. ↑ "Trustees of Franklin District". Idaho Statesman. Boise, Idaho. December 24, 1911. p. 6.
  13. ↑ "Franklin Passes New School Bonds". Idaho Statesman. Boise, Idaho. April 4, 1926. p. 8.
  14. ↑ "Notice to Contractors". Idaho Statesman. Boise, Idaho. May 14, 1926. p. 14.
  15. ↑ "Let Contract". Idaho Statesman. Boise, Idaho. June 4, 1926. p. 7.
  16. ↑ "Franklin School Completed (photo)". Idaho Statesman. Boise, Idaho. October 7, 1926. p. 5.
  17. ↑ "Advertisement for Bids". Idaho Statesman. Boise, Idaho. September 4, 1936. p. 8.
  18. ↑ "Legal Notice". Idaho Statesman. Boise, Idaho. March 19, 1947. p. 11.
  19. ↑ "School Board Votes to Close Fairmont High". Idaho Statesman. Boise, Idaho. February 18, 1948. p. 2.
  20. ↑ "To Earn the Title (photo)". Idaho Statesman. Boise, Idaho. November 11, 1952. p. 8.
  21. ↑ Anne Wallace Allen (April 7, 2008). "Former students, faculty recall time at Franklin school - Current students will find desks elsewhere as the century-old school closes". Idaho Statesman. Boise, Idaho.
  22. ↑ Sven Berg (January 28, 2016). "Strange future neighbors: Boise Bench's Franklin Park, Maverik store". Idaho Statesman. Boise, Idaho.
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