Historic Register Tour - Fotheringham House 2

HISTORIC NAME	Five Mile Prairie School
COMMON NAME
DATE BUILT	1939
ARCHITECT/BUILDER	Charles Wood
PROPERTY STYLE	Rural Brick Schoolhouse
ON THE SPOKANE REGISTER	Yes - added 9/14/04
NATIONAL REGISTER	Pending
IN A DISTRICT	Pending
DISTRICT	No
NEIGHBORHOOD

STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE

Strategically centered in the heart of Five Mile Prairie, the Five Mile Prairie School was built in 1939 and is one of the oldest and best preserved two-room schoolhouses in north Spokane County, Washington. From 1939 until its closure in 1970, the Five Mile Prairie School served the residents of the area as the community’s public elementary school. It not only provided a public education to children on Five Mile Prairie but also served as a community meeting place for political, religious, benevolent, athletic, and other civic and social gatherings in the area. The schoolhouse symbolizes the citizen’s long-standing commitment to education and community development, and is a beloved public landmark. Associated with the evolution of public education in Spokane County and Washington State, the Five Mile Prairie School reflects early 20^th-century construction practices advocated for statewide public schools, including fire-resistant building materials and preferred school design for classrooms. The schoolhouse is a product of accomplished Spokane architect Charles R. Wood, and illustrates the Federal Government’s presence, which was demonstrated through the Works Progress Administration (WPA), the labor force that was responsible for the construction of the building. In Spokane County, the Five Mile Prairie School is one of the best and last surviving examples of the historic building types, “rural brick schoolhouse” and “school gymnasium,” and meets the registration requirements described in the National Register Multiple Property Documentation (MPD), Rural Public Schools in Washington from Early Settlement to 1945. Historically and architecturally significant in the areas of “education” and “architecture” during its period of significance from 1939 to 1954, the Five Mile Prairie School is eligible for listing on the Spokane Register of Historic Places under Categories A and C.