Schoolhouse

Circa 1899

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Town of Frisco

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Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, July 27, 2025

1. Schoolhouse Marker

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Divide.

West.

America,

Mountains,

Hemisphere,

World,

Anglosphere.

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, July 27, 2025

2. Schoolhouse Marker

The marker is at far right. The NRHP plaque is at far left.

From the National Register Nomination prepared by Ann Knapp-English and Deborah LaFountaine, 10/26/1982:
The Schoolhouse in Frisco is important to the community in that it is the town's earliest standing school building and the only school to serve Frisco from 1902 to 1940. Frisco was established as a mining town which experienced both boom and bust periods largely based on the silver market. In its mining heyday, the town boasted several saloons, four hotels and an opera house. After the 1893 silver crash, Frisco made a strong recovery with new mining interests. It was during this period that the schoolhouse building was constructed (originally built as a saloon in the mid to late 1890s).
Public school had been held in District 9 (Frisco) since 1882, according to school board minutes. Where classes were held at that time is not known. On November 30, 1901, the school board purchased Lots 1, 2 and 3 on Block F along with the existing building on the property from Simon Schloss. (Schloss had acquired the property from Oliver Swanson about one month before; although Swanson listed himself as a miner in 1900, he is

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, July 27, 2025

3. National Register of Historic Places

This property has been placed on the National Register of Historic Places by the United States Department of the Interior.

the first owner of the property, and it is presumed that he built and operated the saloon that was standing on the lots.) Swanson’s building was subsequently converted into use as a school. A yearly average of twenty-five pupils attended the one-room schoolhouse from 1902 to 1940, when the school district was temporarily consolidated with Dillon. In 1947 the Frisco school was reopened and continued in use until 1961-1962. Thus the building was actively used as Frisco’s only school for fifty-three years. In the mid-1960s, it was reopened and functioned as the county school administration building until 1981.
The building has a central entrance facing north toward Main Street. On either side of the main door is a large flatheaded window with a plain moulded surround. Each is a single sash with a double hung, stained glass transom light. The transom lights have a clear rectangular center pane, surrounded by a symmetrical arrangement of small panels, alternating cut and stained glass. A diamond-shaped window is centered in the north front gable, hinged on the bottom right side to open into the attic. The gable is decorated with scalloped

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, July 27, 2025

4. Schoolhouse

patterned shingles.

Excerpt:  The Frisco Schoolhouse, now a local museum registered on the National Register of Historic Places, is an original one-room schoolhouse located in the Frisco Historic Park in Frisco, Colorado. The schoolhouse is located on its original location. The building was first built as a saloon in the 1890s and later converted to a school, which now contains original blackboards and school desks.

Excerpt:  Built circa 1890, this wood frame rural schoolhouse includes an elaborate bell tower and a stained glass window. The schoolhouse is listed under Rural School Buildings in Colorado Multiple Property Submission.

Excerpt:  By 1980, the

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, July 27, 2025

5. Schoolhouse

From the National Register Nomination:  The dominant feature of the building is an open bell tower, topped by a bell cast roof, at the base of which are semi-circular arches containing sunburst patterns on all four sides. Crowning the tower is the original weathervane.

Schoolhouse was in danger of being torn down, and the citizens of Frisco rallied and restored the Schoolhouse as part of the creation of the Frisco Historic Park & Museum. The Schoolhouse serves as the primary exhibit space for the Frisco Historic Park & Museum. This building continues its role in education while serving more than 35,000 guests a year.