Prairie View School building moved to Waverly location

The long-dormant Prairie View School building has been moved into the town of Waverly in a project which has been in the works for several years. The building was actually cut in sections then moved approximately five miles to a new foundation on a lot at the south end of Waverly.

The sections were reassembled on the foundaton with new roof trusses and a roof added on the top.

“The roof and the floor were in the worst shape. They went pretty fast once water was allowed in the building,” according to Glenn Leitz, one of the key organizers of the project.

The belfry on the old school building was also in bad condition and moved to the Leitz ranch on Prairie View Road. Leitz said plans call for construction of a new belfry to be placed on the new roof.

Official configuration of the building included a porch and that feature could be added at a future date.

The site also featured a teacher’s cottage and two outside privies. Crews from Maverick Construction, Spokane, are now working on finishing the building in preparing it for winter. Maverick decided to cut the buildling in sections after discovering the supports under the old floor were too far gone to support it during the move. The ends, less the gables, were moved in one piece, and the sides were cut in three sections each for the move.

Moving the school had been in the discussion stage for several years, but the project was sidetracked during the recession. Leitz said the project now has been supported by local donations with the Southeast Spokane County Historical Society and the Town of Waverly as partners.

The school was constructed in 1904 as a replacement for an original school on the site. At one time it had as many as 37 students in the 24x44 room, Leitz noted.

Prairie View School was located where the Fenn Road, Painter Road and Plaza-Waverly Road join west of Waverly. The sections of the building were moved approximately five miles to Waverly via the Painter Road.

One of the unique features of the school building was a raised stage at the entrance end of the building. The building had two entrances, one for boys and one for girls, with small curved hallways leading into the main room. The stage at one time had curtains and probably held the teacher’s desk during the time of peak enrollment.

Leitz noted Prairie View was among hundreds of schools which date back when early settlement schools had to be located within walking and riding range of the homes of rural students. The school’s top enrollment probably dates back to when Waverly served as the site of a sugar beet processing plant.

Prairie View was closed down in the late 1930s when school consolidation was underway. Leitz noted students in the school landed in neighboring districts such as Waverly, Latah and Spring Valley which were also consolidated.