ca. 1915. View of pond near entrance to Point Defiance Park as taken circa 1915. "Old" Ruston School and first tall ASARO smokestack in background This stack was replaced with a tall stack in 1917. Ruston Elementary School, 5227 No. Winnifred St., opened as Ruston School in 1902, before the area incorporated as Ruston. Large building to the far right is unidentified.

Ruston School (Ruston); Smokestacks--Tacoma; Lakes & ponds--Tacoma;

Three story school house, built 1888, demolished 1925 to make room for new brick building

Tacoma--Schools; Fern Hill;

McKinley School, 2nd grade class photo. These smiling children posed for their class picture near the end of the 1951 school year. Among them was Dorothy Mika, second row to the left, second seat back. Dorothy (later Dorothy Stewart) grew up to become a longtime staff member of the Tacoma Public Library.

McKinley School (Tacoma); Public schools--Tacoma--1950-1960; School children--Tacoma--1950-1960; Classrooms--Tacoma--1950-1960; Mika, Dorothy; Stewart, Dorothy;

ca. 1885. When this circa 1885 photograph was taken Annie Wright Seminary (now School) was so new that there were still tree stumps in the front yard at the photo's left. There was no staircase to the sidewalk built yet. Annie Wright opened on September 3, 1884, and was named in honor of the school's benefactor, railroad magnate Charles B. Wright. It was located near Wright Park at 611 Division Ave. The school's purpose was to educate the daughters of pioneers so that they could contribute to the "righteous upbringing of this great country." $350 a year was the school's first tuition and that included "board, furnished room, tuition in English branches and Latin, and laundry service." In 1924 the school moved to a new campus at 827 Tacoma Ave. No. which provided more space for growth. The old building, with foundation of Wilkeson stone, was razed. The only remaining building, the gymnasium, was leased to the Tacoma Drama League in 1925. (www.ag.org/about/history)

Annie Wright Seminary (Tacoma); Private schools--Tacoma--1880-1890;

ca. 1891. The faculty and pupils of Washington College pose on the wide steps of their secondary school, located on Tacoma Avenue South at the present site of Central School, ca. 1891. Washington College opened as a boys school on September 2, 1886, with a $50,000 endowment by Charles B. Wright. It started with 65 pupils, half of them day students. According to a letter from John Kirtland, a former teacher at the school, the college was headed by a Mr. Pulford at the time of this photograph. Mr. Kirtland was not in this particular picture but he indicated the presence of other faculty: Mr. Dudley, Mr. Ayrault, and Mr. Reed. The school closed in 1892 as the Great Depression of 1892 caused many of the pupils to leave school to find work. Its endowment was then transferred to Annie Wright Seminary.

Washington College (Tacoma); Private schools--Tacoma;

ca. 1895. Teacher, Miss Rice, and students on the steps of "old" Franklin School circa 1895. The original Franklin (Elementary) School was built in 1889 and named after the famous American inventor and statesman, Benjamin Franklin. The school started out with two teachers but rapidly growing enrollment added more faculty and necessitated the construction of a two-story addition in 1896. A new building replaced the old one in 1910 to handle overcrowding and the old building was sold for $250. Further additions were made in 1914 and 1953 but the school finally was demolished in September of 1997. A new Franklin School has been located at 1402 South Lawrence since 1998. (Olsen, For the Record, p. 59-article)

Franklin School (Tacoma); Public schools--Tacoma--1890-1900; School children--Tacoma--1890-1900; Teachers--Tacoma--1890-1900;

ca. 1910. Graduating class Horace Mann School, 5234 So. J Street, circa 1910. Many of the students are wearing ribbons. Horace Mann School was built in 1901 and named in honor of the noted American educator. By 1910, the school had grown from a simple two story, four room building to adding additional classrooms. It would be demolished when increasing student population in the city's south end contributed to the erection of a new Mann Elementary at nearby South 52nd & "K" Sts. in 1953.

Horace Mann School (Tacoma); Public schools--Tacoma--1910-1920; Students--Tacoma--1910-1920;

ca. 1935. School boy patrol at Central School, circa 1935. In a Tacoma school safety program initiated in 1929, responsible students were selected to assist their fellow students in safely crossing busy streets. The chest crossing belt and the hand held stop sign designated a student as a patrol member and were considered badges of honor. (Photograph courtesy of the collection of William T. Case)

School safety patrols--Tacoma--1930-1940; School children--Tacoma--1930-1940; Public schools--Tacoma--1930-1940; Central School (Tacoma); Case, William L.;

ca. 1913. This is Hawthorne School shortly after opening in September of 1913. The entire population of the elementary school is lined up in front of the imposing building with Jessie Lithgow near the far right. Jessie's face has been circled and an arrow pointed toward the head. Hawthorne School was the first school in the Northwest with a German plan assembly hall. It had originated as East School in 1885 in temporary classrooms at a former store at South 24th & Pacific Ave. A new two-room building was constructed at East D & 31st streets in 1886 and classes were held with only one teacher. A six-room addition was authorized in 1889 by the school board and the school renamed Hawthorne after author Nathaniel Hawthorne. Enrollment grew with the admittance of Puyallup Indian Tribal children in 1896 and by 1904 Hawthorne was the school district's third largest school after Central and Lowell. When other schools were built in the eastern and southern parts of the city enrollment started to decline at Hawthorne in 1908. Nonetheless, a new Hawthorne School was built in 1913 at 28th & East F Sts. It held 438 students and four teachers, much smaller than Hawthorne in 1905 when enrollment reached 1,305 students. Hawthorne closed in 1963 and later the building housed early childhood education programs. For a few short years it was the Puyallup Indian Tribe's Chief Leschi School. The school was razed in June of 1981 to make way for the Tacoma Dome. (Olsen: For the Record, p. 53-54-article & various photographs)

Hawthorne School (Tacoma); Public schools--Tacoma--1910-1920; School children--Tacoma--1910-1920;

ca. 1909. Entrance to Stadium High School, four people in front of building. #BU11372

Stadium High School (Tacoma); Public schools--Tacoma--1900-1910; Historic buildings--Tacoma

ca. 1931. Second grade class, Spanaway School District 322, taken in 1931. The teacher is Miss Daisy Salmonson. Bottom row, left to right, Tweeden, Dotty B., Ruby Graber and Gladys Wilson. 2nd row: Phylis Bradshaw, Janet Anderson, Pearl Hoskins, Frank Zlock, Vivian Handy and Lorraine Ridout. 3rd row: Cecelia Niesen, ElmerTeale, Lavina Mae Nygard, Charles Martin, Thelma Williams, Junior Curry and Jeanne Lakey. 4th row: William Case, Marion Gunsons, Louis Phillips, Margaret Hermansen, Gordon Pirnie and Vivian Lawer. 5th row: Robert Reed, La Verne Manning, Edward Manning, Boby Edi, Manly Storlee, Mae Jhonson and Wilbur Schatly. (photograph and names courtesy of the William T. Case collection)

Spanaway School (Spanaway)--1930-1940; Students--Spanaway--1930-1940; Case, William L.;

In April of 1924, the fifth grade students from Orting School were photographed in front of their school building. For a list of the names printed on the back of the photograph, see Series RUCSHNER Image 001B. Theresa Rucshner, front seated row 4th from left, was eleven years old in this photograph. (scanned copy only - no hard copy) Photograph donated by Shirley Frasl Sigafoos.

School children--Orting; Orting School--Group portraits; Rucshner, Theresa; Orting School (Orting); Public schools--Orting--1920-1930;

ca. 1904. Students and teacher on the front steps of a school, probably Franklin School, 3210 So. 12th St., circa 1904. Class sizes in 1904 at Franklin averaged 48 children with one teacher. Franklin School (first named Pierce's Addition School and then renamed shortly after opening in honor of Benjamin Franklin) had the distinction of being older than Washington statehood. It opened in October of 1889 and Washington became the 42nd state in November of the same year. The original Franklin School would stand until 1910 when overcrowding forced the construction of a new school . The old school with gables and bell tower was sold for $250 and hauled away for scrap lumber. A new Franklin arose nearby at 3202 So. 12th St. where it would remain until its demolition in 1997. The third Franklin School was then built in 1998 at 1402 So. Lawrence St. (Olsen: For the Record, p. 59-article; TNT 4-10-97, SL3-article, various photos)

Public schools--Tacoma--1900-1910; School children--Tacoma--1900-1910; Teachers--Tacoma--1900-1910;

ca. 1901. Sepia photograph of a Lincoln Elementary School class in 1901. Standing on the steps of Lincoln Elementary are numerous students; in the third row, second from the left is reportedly Jeston Reed Foss. Originally named West School, construction began on the new school at 1610 South K Street (now MLK Way) in 1887. It was renamed in honor of President Abraham Lincoln in 1889. The school began as a two-room school with two grades; by 1890, it had four grades and five teachers. The school was closed and demolished in 1938. Most of the students and staff were transferred to McCarver Junior High where they joined students from Longfellow to form a new elementary school. Others were assigned to either Central or Stanley schools. (Olsen: For the Record, p. 57) (note: the same photograph is identified in Olsen's book as Hawthorne School)

Lincoln Elementary School (Tacoma); Public schools--Tacoma--1900-1910; School children--Tacoma;

ca. 1916. Girls Gymnasium, Lincoln Park High School, Tacoma

Lincoln Park High School (Tacoma); Public schools--Tacoma--1910-1920; Gymnasiums; Physical education

This information was written on the back of the April 11, 1924 group portrait of the fifth grade students at Orting School. The back listed the names of the majority of the children in the photo. To see the photograph itself, see Series RUCSHNER Image 001B. (scanned copy only - no hard copy) back of photograph donated by Shirley Frasl Sigafoos.

School children--Orting; Orting School (Orting); Public schools--Orting--1920-1930;