The Old Red Schoolhouse 1899-1965

Construction of the old red schoolhouse began in the spring of 1899 and was completed in 1901 at a cost of $3,789.12 after school trustees had petitioned Alpine City in 1882 to purchase the land for $5.00. Sand for mortar came from Whitby’s sand pit, L.L. Clark made adobes, Fred Clark hauled them to the site, and brick was purchased in Provo for $6.00 per thousand delivered. The 30 ft. by 60 ft. redbrick building had four large rooms, two on the ground floor and two on the top floor, a stairway with an oak banister on the south side, an office in the southwest corner upstairs, a coal furnace that provided steam heat, red sandstone front steps with a cement apron, and the inscription “18 Alpine Public School 99” above the arch entrance. A large bell in the belfry rang at 8:30, signaling school would start in thirty minutes. The schoolhouse opened on October 23, 1899, and Mary (May) E. Whitby, the first teacher, taught four classes with a total of sixty-four pupils. When eight grades were formed with two grades in each room, one teacher taught both grades, and pupils sat at old-fashioned desks. In the 1930's, the seventh and eighth grades were bussed to American Fork, and later a kindergarten class was started. The Alpine gymnasium was built in 1923-24 about twenty feet east of the old schoolhouse at a cost of $13,767.00, and school lunches were served on its stage. Over the years, the buildings were the setting for school, athletic, cultural, and social events that created cherished memories for generations of Alpiners before a wrecking crew began demolishing the old schoolhouse on April 22, 1968.

Alpine, Utah · United States