Another Win for Country Schoolhouse Preservation
It was Colorado Rocky Mountain high for the CSAA Annual conference for 2022…the theme…Westward Ho, Back to School We Go! Conference Coordinators Christy Nelson and Liz Ferris hampered by two COVID cancellations, got the job done this year with a beautifully orchestrated gathering of attendees from 19 states.
The City of Golden was CSAA's base where we hosted attendees from across the country at the Colorado School of Mines.
Arriving early, participants were invited to visit on Sunday the 1880 Altona Schoolhouse in Boulder County restored to perfection in 2019. Preservationists from The Altona School also offered a program at the conference highlighting their restoration.
Also prior to the start of the conference, many took the scenic drive known as the Lariat Loop to visit the Buffalo Bill Museum and Grave and the awe inspiring views from Lookout Mountain. Visitors heard the stories of a man ahead of his time, a world renowned showman, a friend and supporter of Native America performers, and a pioneer in promoting women’s equality with male counterparts.
Along the loop is the Red Rocks Amphitheatre where super stars in the music industry perform and record in this open air concert venue amid spectacular scenery.
Back on campus we breathed the clear mountain air and appreciated the architecture of the School of Mines, both classic and modern. Garden walkways led to the Ben Parker Student Center where our programming would take place for the next two days.
14 presentations by CSAA members on the history, preservation, and restoration of country schools would fill our program schedule for Monday and Tuesday.
Three keynote speakers from Colorado shared a truly local perspective: Sally Queen on Our One-Room Schoolhouses and Beyond; Steve Friesen, Lakota Performers in Wild West Shows; Regina-Lopez Whiteskunk Zoomed in to speak on Indian Schools: Then and Now.
On Tuesday afternoon of the conference we caravanned off-campus to tour Bent’s Old Fort, a historic reproduction of an original, yet so historic in its own right, it is on the National Register of Historic Places. Here we were graced with a historical talk and performances by Lakota Dancers in traditional clothing.
Wednesday, we took part in the ever-popular coach tour of country schools. Climbing into the Rockies, we visited schools and schoolhouse museums beginning with the Dumont Schoolhouse built in 1909. It is the home of the Mill Creek Historical Society with an extensive collection of historic artifacts reflective of the town’s history.
On to the 1874 Old School in Georgetown now used as the Georgetown Heritage Center is clearly not a museum, but a monumental restoration effort spearheaded by award winning preservationist Cynthia Neely, for actual and active community use. Cynthia gave an inspiring talk on saving this landmark of American education.
A short distance from the Heritage Center we boarded the Georgetown Loop narrow gauge railroad for a trip up a steep canyon to Silver Plume four miles away. On a visit to the Silver Plume School, restored to a museum, we spent plenty of time exploring the collections of the Silver Plume Historical Museum. Their in-tact classroom remains as if the children just left for home.
An authentic miner’s lunch was served with traditional meat pies called Pasties. The setting was ideal with the backdrop of this mining town!
Lunch was generously donated by the volunteers of the Summit County Historical Society, and from there is was on to the 1883 Dillon Schoolhouse in Summit County. This schoolhouse became a museum in 1972 and hosts school groups for living history as it might have been in 1892. The little schoolhouse is fully outfitted for experiencing education of the past, filled with useful school artifacts.
The Dillon Schoolhouse was officially awarded their CSAA National Registry plaque in a small ceremony joining 70 other schoolhouse museums recognized by the Country School Association of America for their preservation efforts.
The Summit County Historical Society is a complex featuring the 1883 Dillon Schoolhouse, Myers Cabin, Homestead Garden, & Honeymoon Cabin and we enjoyed them all!
Our final stop would be the town of Frisco to visit the Frisco School formerly the Swanson Saloon built in 1899. Today is serves as a museum displaying historic photos and artifacts from Frisco’s mining heritage. It is surrounded by a complex of historic log homes and businesses of the mining era, where visitors roam freely through the exhibits.
And while saying good-bye to spectacular Colorado, we look forward to the CSAA Annual Conference to be held next year in Lancaster Pennsylvania…June 11-14, 2023 at Millersville University.
Please consider joining us…everyone who loves schoolhouses is WELCOME!!!
The theme will be COUNTRY SCHOOLS:THE KEYSTONE TO AMERICAN EDUCATION. Hope to see you there!
Watch our website for further information and updates and a VIDEO SLIDE SHOW of this conference with more pictures and information!
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