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Old Highland School 14505 NE 29th Place
This building is one of the first schoolhouses in the Bellevue area. It is also one of the early schools where the late Walter Stevenson taught and served as principal. Mr. Stevenson, for whom Stevenson Elementary School, was named, was a well-known teacher in the Bellevue area. He began teaching at the Highland School in 1933, when there were three teachers for grades 1-8. In September 1889 A. B. Huxford obtained the property from the United States government for his homestead. After several months Huxford offered an acre of the land to the Highland School District No. 57, with the provision that it be used as a school for ten consecutive years. The school building was substantially enlarged in 1912 and topped with a large bell. The W. A. Ashton family purchased and used the old school building as a residence from the 1940s to the 1960s. In 1971, it was realized that the schoolhouse must be moved or demolished to make room for Interstate 520. Several interested citizens, the Bellevue School District, and the State Highway Department agreed to have the building moved rather than demolish it. The old school relates to the study unit theme of education and is included in this survey because of its history, not its architecture or current appearance. |