32 NOVEMBER 2018 By Anthony Wallace On August 3, 1896, townspeople gathered at the Titus ranch to craft a plan to educate the children of their burgeoning community. They named their newly created school district Scottsdale, a name that turned out to be so catchy that it eventually replaced the entire settlement’s original name, “Orangedale.” The group erected a 16’x18’ wooden structure on the intersection of Brown and Main, across the street from the olive trees (some of which still stand today) planted by the town’s namesake, Civil War hero Chaplain Winfield Scott. The schoolhouse first opened for business in 1897 with 14 pupils and one teacher,17- year-old Hattie Greene, who had just arrived in town with her family from Illinois. By 1909, growing enrollment necessitated a new building, so the townspeople approved a $5000 bond to construct a larger building next door. They called it the Scottsdale Grammar School, and it still stands today. Throughout its illustrious life, the building has been expanded and repurposed many times. At various points, it has served as a Sunday school, church, polling place, segregated school for Mexican-American children, Town Hall and the County Court Office and the City Library. In 1991, 94 years after Ms. Greene’s class first took their seats, the building was turned into the Scottsdale Historical Museum. In 1969, the Scottsdale Historical Society was formed in an effort to prevent the building from being torn down and consumed by the rapidly expanding mall. “It’s easy to tear things down,” said Scottsdale Historical Society Treasurer Eleanor Brierley. “But it’s hard to try to keep your history alive.” And it’s not just the forces of commercialization that threaten to tear down Scottsdale’s history. It must also contend with the elements and ravages of time. Overnight on September 17, 2017, a water heater burst in the basement of the old building, damaging a great number of historical a r t i f a c t s a n d a r c h ive s . T h e museum worked quickly to clear the area, and much of the water-damaged ephemera (printed or written material, such as manuscripts, news- clippings, and posters) was sent off to San Francisco for attempted restoration, but this effort was only partially successful. Sadly, many paper archives, including phone books and many issues of Scottsdale’s original newspaper, the Scottsdale Progress, were lost. Brierley described the losses as “heart wrenching.” Despite the damage, Brierley says people continue to regularly ask to search the archives. These requests often come from students, historical authors, city officials working on zoning codes, or business owners curious about the previous uses of their buildings. The historical archives in the basement at the Little Red Schoolhouse contain a wealth of knowledge that has amused, fascinated and provided important logistical information for property owners and those crafting city policy. Our world is built on an accumulation of wisdom and knowledge, and once it’s lost, it can’t be recovered, and its ability to inf luence, inspire, and help future generations is forfeited. Thankfully, insurance, some key fundraising events, and a number of generous d o n a t i o n s f r o m individuals allowed the historical society to replace the replaceable things ruined by the flood. But the damaged ephemera and all the quirky, critical and illuminating knowledge contained therein is gone forever. The museum charges no admission fee and relies on donations to stay afloat. Left unguarded, history tends to decay and slip away, but lucky for us, there are organizations like Scottsdale Historical Society who are dedicated to preserving it. For more: scottsdalehistory.org. Scottsdale schoolhouse has over a century of history The Scottsdale Historical Museum has re-opened, after recovering from water damage last fall. The building was once Scottsdale’s Little Red Schoolhouse, and was put on the National Register of Historic Places in 1994. It’s easy to tear things down. But it’s hard to try to keep your history alive.” FIND AN RACK LOCATION NEAR YOU. Visit arcadianews.com click on “Pick up a copy” FIND AN RACK LOCATION NEAR YOU.

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