Mill Street School

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Mill Street School, c.1905. (Photo courtesy of the Springfield Museum)
Mill Street School
Building Description
Style
Construction	1889
Destruction
Architect
Original Owner	Springfield school district
Initial Use	School
Square Footage
Height
Location
City	Springfield
Area	Springfield Downtown
Address	Mill Street
Zip Code	97477
Historical Importance Distinctions
First prominent Springfield school

[edit] History

The school district replaced the pioneer school building in the 1880s. The Mill Street School, as it was called, was only a one-story, two-room building, which the student population quickly outgrew.

There is evidence that a cheese factory was in operation on Mill Street until 1889, when the factory building was converted into a school (Graham 1978a). The school was the first of a series of schoolhouses to occupy the Mill and D Street site that now holds the present school administration building, which was built in 1921 as a high school (Graham 1978a).

Three larger schools, the first Springfield High School on Mill Street, Lincoln School, and the Glenwood school, were two-story, wood-frame buildings with multiple classrooms. None of these are extant. The Mill Street School, however, was replaced in 1921 by a three-story masonry building with stylistic elements associated with restrained classicism. It was used as the high school until a new modern facility was built in the 1940s; it is now used to house the Springfield School District offices.