Kelsey Schoolhouse - 1956-57 and 2012

Good morning, Tina here.

I just found a "new" photo of the Kelsey Schoolhouse which (for those who aren't in-the-know) is located on the Georgetown Divide on Garden Valley Road just west of Highway 193.

This photo was posted on facebook by a lady who was a long-time resident but has since moved away to live her adult years. She is in the first row farthest right.

These students attended the school the years of 1956 and 1957, and were grades one through four.

The bell for the school, which should sit in the bell tower on the roof, was stolen many years ago. The person who stole the bell has died, and the house where the person lived has been bulldozed. At one time the bell was located in Spanish Flat, a very tiny town on the Georgetown Divide. No one is left to tell where the bell is now.

The original roof of the school was Kelsey slate. The Eureka Slate Mine, located in Kelsey, was a large operation, and for a time in the early 1900s the area just south of Kelsey was known as Slatington, and had its own school. That schoolhouse was moved to Coloma and still stands there in the state park.

The slate was also used for the blackboards, shown here on the inside of the school. (The tables are set for the Kelsey Breakfast).

Okay guys, back to work, the schoolhouse needs a roof!

This photo above is the closest I have to the view with the school children. The window on the left is the girls bathroom, and the door leads into a short hallway to the bathrooms and the schoolrooms. I believe the water heater and furnace are in the gray lean to.

We are lucky to still have our schoolhouse, and we support it by holding breakfasts the first Sunday of each month, except in the winter months. Our first breakfast of 2016 will be April 3rd. I'll be up that morning at 5:00 am making the biscuits. Come and join us!