Schools and Churches
The history of the schools and churches of Independence, and Polk County is very rich. The first school in Independence, after Henry Hill platted the new town in about 1867, was located in a vacant saloon on Main St. where the Masonic Lodge is located. There is also a rumor that Thorpe's Town also had a log cabin, on Log Cabin Street, that housed a tavern at night, a one room school by day and a church on Sundays. The Heritage museum itself is housed in a building which began with a transplanted Baptist congregation .
On February 3, 1891 school district #29 (a merge of district #38 and #29) opened a new public school at the northwest corner of 4th and C in Independence. This was the first school to have electric lights, two stories and a full basement. In 1917 a contract with the Oregon Normal School supplied student teachers so they might gain experience working under "critic" teachers. In 1925 they outgrew the building and had a brick school (currently Independence Elementary School) built in the front yard of the existing school. Upon completion, the original building was demolished. Other schools in our area are Henry Hill Elementary School, Talmadge Middle School, Central High School (formerly Independence High School, located in the present site of Henry Hill Elementary) and opened in the fall of 2002, Ash Creek Intermediate School. Information compiled by T.D. Pomeroy, Jr.
For additional photos and history about schools, see the link to the Heritage Museum Society on our home page.
