School

: site of school in the distance

: Cisco, UT Sep. 10, 2017

I’m trying to duplicate the whole town of Cisco, Utah in N scale. This post introduces one of the structures in the town.


A few businesses survived along US Hwy 50 & 6 at Cisco in the early 70s; 4 gas service stations, a mercantile/cafe, and a motel. Some private houses also seem to exist along Second Street. The southernmost of the town sat this structure on Lots 17, 18, 19, and 20 of Block 22, Cisco Townsite.


The school at Cisco was established in 1898[1]. Victor Putman Hanson(1841 – 1920) offered the schoolhouse. May Jones was the original teacher and there were sixteen pupils. The school bell rang at nine o’clock in the evening to inform the children of the curfew[2]. Any photos of the original schoolhouse aren't found, but a part of Maynard House is said to be the original schoolhouse[3].

In 1919, the “barest makeshift tie shack” used as the schoolhouse was sold and the town had to find a replacement[4]. Accordingly, a new 16'×24' schoolhouse was constructed by the contractor V. R. Bush, on Main Street up the hill south of the town, only in two weeks[5, 6]. The lots were offered by Richard M Handy[7]. The 17'×20' Fruita, Utah schoolhouse built in 1896 shown below may provide some information about the heyday of Cisco School.

Giant stride swing, volleyball, and net were added to school equipment in 1928[8]. Unfortunately, however, the school was temporally closed between 1943 and 1944 due to the lack of pupils: the enrollments in those years were nine[9, 10].


Edwinna McFarland(1883 – 1964) taught for nine years since 1945 after the temporary closure. William Cowger(1889 – 1971) of the Cisco Mercantile provided power from his private generating plant since 1951[11]. The piano was tuned and the blackboard was renewed in 1953[12]. Victor Murray(1893 – 1962) provided natural gas free of cost from his gas well to the school to fire an automatic thermostat-controlled heating unit in 1954[13]. Pupils enjoyed the Sylvania Hi-Fi machine newly arranged in 1958[14].

Unfortunately, however, the school was closed again in 1959 due to the lack of pupils[15]. Mary Eleanor Gould(1895 – 1973), sister of Edwinna, was the last teacher. Number of the last pupils was fourteen[16]. The school board seat assigned by Grand County Commission to Cisco was eliminated in 1961[17].


Two Oil Companies, Promontory Oil and Federal Oil, rented the vacant schoolhouse structure for storage in 1964[18]. We can see it in the 1969 photo attached to Kathy Jordan’s articles[19]. The structure also appears in the movie Vanishing Point shot in 1970. The structure was finally demolished maybe in the 70s, no later than 1974, according to USGS aerial photos.


Accommodation for the successive teachers was provided by Victor Murray near the schoolhouse on Lots 22, 23, and 24 of Block 11 at the corner of Second Street and Colorado Street. It was built by Pace Brothers in the 20s[20, 21]. This structure still survives to this day.

revised, Nov. 15, 2017

revised, Feb. 6, 2018

revised, Apr. 7, 2023

[1] Dec. 23, 1898 Grand Valley Times;
[2] Sep. 8, 1905 Grand Valley Times;
[3] Dalton, Vonna Foy. “Some Remembrances of Picture Gallery and Cisco”, #51, Canyon Regacy, Moab Museum, 2004;
[4] Oct. 16, 1919 Times Independent
[5] Oct. 23, 1919 Times Independent;
[6] Nov. 6, 1919 Times Independent;
[7] Feb. 2, 1918 Grand Valley Times;
[8] May 3, 1928 Times Independent;
[9] Aug. 26, 1943 Times Independent;
[10] Aug. 30, 1945 Times Independent;
[11] Mar. 8, 1951 Times Independent;
[12] Oct. 15, 1953 Times-Independent;
[13] Oct. 7, 1954 Times Independent;
[14] Jan. 30, 1958 Times Independent;
[15] Aug. 13, 1959 Times Independent;
[16] Sep. 12, 1958 Times Independent;
[17] May 4, 1961 Times Independent;
[18] Sep. 3, 1964 Times Independent;
[19] Jordan, Kathy "‘Uranium King’ Charlie Steen started out in Cisco tar¬paper shack", Mar. 24, 2011 Daily Sentinel;
[20] description on the flooring;
[21] description "teacher Dorothy Miller, boarder of Annie M. Pace" in the 1930 Census

: drawings of Fruita schoolhouse
: teacher's house
　
　
Ciscoの町に、学校および郵便局以外、病院や消防署などいわゆる公共施設は一切設けられることは無かった。ここでは、教育サービスがこの地の果てのような荒野のただ中にある町において、どのように進展したか紹介する。

シスコ小学校は1898年に開設された。とはいえ、その校舎は廃枕木を積み上げた小屋のようなものであったようだ。1919年に、その後1970年代まで生き存えることになる、16フィート×24フィートの校舎になった。場所はメイン・ストリートを南に下がった丘の上である。近くのキャピトル・リーフ国立公園内に比較的近い時期・規模の校舎が保存されていて、往時の様子を窺い知ることができる。

最初の生徒数は16名で、朝だけでなく夜９時にも「おやすみの鐘」が鳴らされた。夜まで働いていたのだろうか。その後、校庭に回転遊具やバレーボール用のネットが据えられ、1951年には電気、1954年にはガスの供給も始まった。しかし、1959年、14名の生徒を最後に閉校になってしまう。空き校舎は、その後、石油掘削会社に倉庫として貸し出されていたが、1970年代中頃までに解体されてしまったようだ。

附属の教員宿舎は、といっても小さな一軒家だが、コロラド・ストリートとセカンド・ストリートの角にまだ遺っている。