The remarkable history of Mt Hall and Valley View schools

If you were a student in Boundary County in the first half of the 1900s, this is what your educational landscape looked like: Bonners Ferry had Bonners Ferry High School, a centralized school for high-school age students from all over the county.  Northside School and Southside School were also in Bonners Ferry, housing students through the first eight grades of their education.

 Outside of Bonners Ferry, in the more rural areas of the county, were the country schools. These schools were scattered all over the county. Every community area of the county had one. Picture in your mind the pioneer-style “one room” country schoolhouse, and you won’t be far off in imagining what Boundary County’s rural community schools looked like. 

 Although some of the community rural schools sprung up and later faded with population shifts around the county, by midcentury of the 1900s these were the rural community “one room” schools in Boundary County: 

 • McRae School 

• Moravia School 

• McArthur School 

• Paradise Valley School 

• Cow Creek School 

• Moyie Springs School 

• Sheridan School 

• Addie School 

• Eastport School 

• McKinley School 

• Copeland School 

• Porthill School 

• Meadow Creek School 

• Lindberg School 

• Buckhorn School 

• Curley Creek School 

• And the Naples School. Although the Naples School was a rural community school, it was a much larger multi-room and multi-level building, serving the Naples community. 

 Here are photographs of paintings of some of these early schools, painted by local artists S.S. “Slim” Allured and Estella Thomas. These photographs are from the book History of Boundary County, published by the Boundary County Historical Society. 

Each of these rural schools had their own local board of directors and trustees, and operated independently of one another. For that matter, even Northside and Southside Schools in Bonners Ferry were in their own school districts, Southside being District #4 and Northside being District #14. 

 And that was the educational system in Boundary County back then. 

 And all that changed, beginning in 1947. 

 It all started down in Boise. The 1947 Idaho legislature passed a total of 30 measures dealing with education during their legislative session that year, and one of those measures addressed consolidating the many school districts scattered across Idaho’s counties into more uniform centralized districts within the counties. 

 At meetings held in Boundary County in 1947, trustees from the schools all over the county voted to reorganize to form a single consolidated school district for all of Boundary County. At a special election held in October 1947, voters endorsed that reorganization plan by a vote of 519 to 90. Several days later, the new Boundary County Class “A” School District 101 was officially formed, and trustees for the new district were appointed. 

 Consolidation meant bringing together all the scattered rural community schools, the Bonners Ferry town schools, and all the students and teachers of those schools into the single new county-wide school district. Within a short time, trustees of the new District 101 were discussing a sweeping new building project. The project would phase out all of the scattered rural community schools in favor of new, much larger schools built to accommodate all students in the county. Except for the high school, Boundary County had never had such centralized schools before. 

 Plans were made to construct two brand new schools for the pre-high school age students, and locations for those new schools were selected. The school for the northern part of the county was a location known as the “International Junction,” located near Copeland at the junction of two important roadways in the county, both leading into Canada. The site for the second new school building was a location on the South Hill area of Bonners Ferry. At the same time, plans were made to expand the Naples School with the addition of an “annex,” also to construct a new Ag shop at the high school.  

In addition, the building program included future plans for a third new school in the county. The third planned school was to be located somewhere east of the Moyie River to provide a new, consolidated building for students who had been attending the Curley Creek and the Buckhorn schools. Plans for this school were put on hold until a later date, awaiting final decisions on the ultimate location of U.S. Highway 2 running from Moyie Springs into Montana, that highway also being planned at that time. This third building would be situated east of the Moyie River to avoid transporting students on the narrow, winding, dangerous road that ran though the Moyie Canyon at that time.  

District trustees met with architects, engineers, attorneys, and financial firms, and once all plans and schematics were made, it was determined that the building program plans could be completed for the sum of $395,000. A school bond proposal was drawn up for that amount, to submit for voter approval at election. 

 The plan was to have a “modern” eight-classroom elementary school at the Junction site (which the Mt. Hall site was called during construction, before the final school name had been determined), also a larger ten-room elementary school at the South Hill site (this was the name for the Valley View site before its official name had been determined), and an additional classroom and facilities for a new annex at Naples School. The newly-constructed schools would include gymnasiums, cafeterias, visual education rooms, health rooms, and libraries. 

All this was a radical change from the educational system previously operated in Boundary County and in many rural counties throughout Idaho and throughout the United States. The patchwork of the rural community neighborhood schools, governed by local community school boards, had been the pattern for generations, and many adults including the parents of those 1940s-era students, had themselves grown up with those rural schools. This was a significant cultural shift in society in Boundary County and in Idaho. The newly organized School District 101 responded to the needs of this sweeping change with an ambitious program to build two completely new large, fully-equipped modern schools, both from scratch, both to be constructed at the same time, also at the same time upgrading and expanding the Naples School. Additional plans were set for a later calendar date to construct from scratch yet a third brand new school in the eastern part of the county. 

A date was chosen for voting on the proposed $395,000 school bond: May 22, 1948. When that particular date arrived that spring, voting wasn’t the only thing going on. The waters of the county’s rivers were rising rapidly, and caused great concern throughout the county. In spite of the increasing worry over the threatening waterways, voters turned out on that day and voted in favor of the proposed school bond by a 70% margin. 

The very next day, flood waters broke through part of the Kootenai River dike and flooded the county’s District 7. Within days flood waters covered all the district farm lands and low-lying parts of the town of Bonners Ferry along the river. This was the famous Bonners Ferry Flood of 1948. 

The school district realized that even with the flooding, the need for the new school buildings had not changed, and the decision was made to proceed with the building program. With the necessary $395,000 in funding now available, the district three times solicited bids for the big construction project, and each time rejected all bids, as all came back higher than the money the district had available for the project. 

After the third rejection of all bids, the district trustees, convinced they could complete the project on their own within budget limitations, dispensed with seeking bids, and hired their own labor force, largely from workers right within Boundary County. They hired local resident Clifford Hill as general superintendent for the construction project. 

Three and a half months after the voters had approved the bond proposal, in early October 1948, work began with a project to bring water from nearby Mission Creek to the new “Junction” school site. By early November 1948 work began on the Junction school building itself with excavation for the building’s footings. Within a few weeks, work on the South Hill school site also began. 

District trustees and construction supervisors were always on the lookout to find ways to conserve money on the project, to make sure they stretched the funds to have enough to complete the program. One example of this was in the use of wooden forms built for pouring concrete. Those forms were built at the Junction site, and used to pour concrete there for the footings, foundation, and the boiler room of the building. When the concrete pouring was completed at the Junction, those same forms were taken to the South Hill school site in Bonners Ferry, where they were used again to pour the same concrete components there, thereby saving money and materials on the project. 

Money was also saved when the district was able to acquire war-surplus boilers and radiators from the Farragut Naval Training Station and from the Baxter Hospital for the heating systems used in the new schools. 

The new school year for the fall of 1949 opened with crowded conditions at the existing schools, but it was estimated then that the new buildings would be completed and ready for occupancy by the beginning of the school-year’s second semester, coming up in January, only four months away. Enrollment for all schools in the district on that first day of school in 1949 was 1,323 students, which was 23 more than had been present on the first day of school the previous year. 

By mid-October 1949 it was announced that the South Hill school was 80% complete. The exterior painting at the South Hill site, with a few minor exceptions, was essentially done. All steam work had been roughed in. Rooms within the building were being lathed and prepared for plastering. 

At the Junction school site, difficult winter weather had slowed the project to a near standstill, yet still the construction of that building was 75% complete. 

A story in the Bonners Ferry Herald discussing the ongoing school construction described the buildings: “Both of the new buildings are of pumice block construction, brick adding a decorative effect to entrances. The exterior painting is light green in color.” 

Toward the end of December, the South Hill site, though still not complete, had progressed to the point where just before Christmas break, about 100 students from grades 6, 7, and 8 were moved into the new building from the town Southside School. Plans were for the new South Hill school (Valley View) to eventually enroll a total of 350 students in grades 4 – 8, with the remaining students coming to the school later from the Sheridan, Moyie Springs, Cow Creek, and Paradise Valley rural community schools, and also from Bonners Ferry’s Southside and Northside schools.

As 1949 came to a close, it became apparent that some features of the new schools would not be fully completed on time as planned, due to funds in the district’s construction accounts starting to run low. For example, it was anticipated that the schools’ cafeterias would be completed, but the kitchen equipment would not be ready as planned. Also, it was felt that the gymnasiums would not be fully completed, but would still be usable. It was decided to proceed with moving students into the new schools at the appointed times. District trustees felt the schools, though not 100% complete, would still be usable, and that the school consolidation program would continue to proceed. 

Official opening dates for the schools were set: The newly-named Mt. Hall school at the Junction site would open for instruction on Monday, January 23, 1950. The new South Hill school, although the 100 students had already been moved previously into the school, would officially open with its full complement of students one week later, on Monday January 30, 1950. 

The school district put out an appeal to the public for help in moving furniture and equipment from the older rural schools and from the town schools into the newly constructed Mt. Hall and South Hill schools (apparently Valley View’s name had not yet been discovered). Dozens of people volunteered with trucks to help in transporting the equipment, and many others gathered to help load and unload everything. Although the date for moving the equipment twice had to be postponed due to winter weather, the task was finally accomplished. During those moves, coffee and doughnuts were provided to the busy movers by the Kiwanis Club, along with help from Ms. Peters' Bonners Ferry High School home economics class students. 

On the announced days, with furniture and equipment moved into the schools, final details of construction being wrapped up, and in spite of record January snowfalls that year, the two new schools officially opened. New students, transferring from multiple rural schools from all around Boundary County, flowed through the doors and into the classrooms of the two new buildings. 

As those students entered the new buildings, they were welcomed by new principals Ted Moline at Mt. Hall School, and N.B. Martin at the South Hill school, along with their full teams of teachers and faculty. 

And also, as those students entered the new buildings that day, nine rural community schools closed for the final time: Paradise Valley School, Cow Creek School, Moyie Springs School, Sheridan School, Addie School, Eastport School, McKinley School, Copeland School, and Porthill School, joining three schools that had already closed previously: McRae School, Moravia School, and McArthur School. 

Four rural schools remained in operation:  Meadow Creek School, Lindberg School, Buckhorn School, and the Curley Creek School, presumably awaiting the construction of the planned third new school building east of the Moyie Canyon. 

Boundary County became the first county in Idaho to complete county-wide school district consolidation under the laws enacted during the 1947 Idaho legislative session. 

With students from all over the county now moving into the new consolidated schools, the district needed to get those students from locations all over the county transported to those new schools. This large endeavor also involved much time, planning, and expense. The district employed 20 school buses, along with two private automobiles, in the operation of moving students from their homes to their schools, and back again. It was estimated at the time that the buses traveled a combined 730 miles each school day to accomplish their task. 

Life moved on. On Feb. 10, 1950, only a couple of weeks after Mt. Hall School opened, the Mt. Hall Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) had its meeting at the new school. A potluck dinner was served to all, and after dinner the PTA began making plans to raise funds to help complete the final details on the building cafeteria and the kitchen. A committee was organized to build benches for the cafeteria tables. 

Those generations ago, the Boundary County community set forth on an ambitious large-scale project to affect a major, unprecedented change in the organization and management of Boundary County schools, in the process building from scratch — and at the same time — two completely new full-scale school buildings and upgrading the Naples School building. Most of the work was done by local Boundary County workers, who got the project done on time and within budget. 

Ultimately the third new school building that had been planned for later in a location east of the Moyie Canyon was also constructed and put into service — that was the Evergreen School. 

With this ambitious program for school consolidation and new construction, significant changes in the cultural fabric of our Boundary County community also evolved, as the small rural community schools fulfilled and completed the mission of their time, and were ultimately closed. 

Those citizens of 1950 Boundary County may little have dreamed that the schools they built for their own Boundary County children, and for Boundary County children of the future, would still be in full operation 74 years later in the year 2024. 

The Board of Trustees of today’s Boundary County School District 101, having completed  a full two-year detailed assessment of those same buildings and all other buildings of the district, has determined that the time has come to rebuild the 1950 South Hill school — Valley View School. The election for Boundary County voters to respond to that proposal is set for Tuesday, Nov. 5. 

    Mount Hall School was known as the "Junction School" during construction.  

    A view of some of Boundary County's rural schools.  

This article was published previously online by Boundary County Live.