Jefferson School

In 1901, Jefferson School was built at 757 S. Main Street in Springville.  The school was built using a Victorian Romanesque style and out of the couple of schools that were built around the same time, the Jefferson School is the only one that is still standing.  Here is a picture of it from the early 20th century and what it looks like today:

Used by permission, Utah State Historical Society, all rights reserved.

When the school was built, there were also 2 other schools built, although they have since been demolished.  This was due to the population growing towards the east side of Springville.  All three buildings were built around the historic main street district.  There used to be a fort located on the west side of the building, this may have been located where the large grass field currently is.  I'm not sure when the school closed, but I did find an article online where a Springville councilman told of story about when he attended the school during World War II.  I think I may have even found on classmates.com several people who attended the school in the 60's and one who even attended it in the 1980's.

Luckily the school has been preserved quite well.  In 2004, it became part of the National Register of Historic Places as part of the Springville Historic District.  The south boundary of the district is Jefferson School.  The school was converted into an office building as is currently occupied by Red Cliff Ascent Treatment Centers.  Red Cliff Ascent is a residential treatment center, specializing in outdoor activities for at-risk youth.  I don't know if they actually use the building as a housing complex, but I do believe that youth occasionally visit it, as the field to the west of the school is, I believe, owned by Red Cliff.

You may have noticed a couple of things by looking at the two photos.  The building now is larger than the original photo.  Sometime after the original photo was taken, the back half of the building was added.  Also, the building is no longer called Jefferson School or Jefferson Elementary but Jefferson Center.  If you would like a cool view of the whole area around this school, click here.