The Highlandlake school had its first beginnings in 1877 when L. C. Mead called a meeting, held in the Oviatt home, for the purpose of discussing a school district. By a voice vote of 23 - 0, it was decided to petition the County for a school district. The County obliged and School District 33 was formed later that year.
The first year, until the new schoolhouse could be built, school was held in a house that used to stand near the northwest shore of Highland Lake. This was in the curve of the road that wound around the northwest corner of the lake. The home was originally built about 1875 by the Hubbell family, and their daughter, Emma** was the first teacher. Classes were held downstairs. For many years this house was also known as the Art Anderson place. Anderson often related the following story he first heard as a small child.
"In the spring of 1878, a cry went out and school was suddenly dismissed. The students joined the rest of the community in rushing out west of the lake to the unbroken prairie to watch a herd of buffalo pass by. As far as I can tell, this is the only time that buffalo were ever seen around Highlandlake." ~Art Anderson |
The new schoolhouse was built on a half acre of land donated by Deacon George Davis for a school. This lot is located just north of the old red (Smith's) barn in the southeast curve of Weld County Road 5, (formally Main Street). Some of the old foundation stones are still there about five feet north of the above mentioned barn.
In 1886 there was a series of fund-raisers to purchase a bell for the school. Mrs. Melissa Waite was actively involved in raising the funds as were other community members. The tower had already been built by July of 1886 by Mr. Frank Brown.
In December of 1886 the school enrollment was 43 students. By the turn of the century, the enrolled students had increased to nearly one hundred.
The June 10, 1897 Greeley Tribune, carried a story about the first public graduation ceremony for five grammar students from the Highlandlake Grammar school. The full program was listed, and mentioned the church where the ceremony was held, several times.
In about 1908, the Highlandlake School was consolidated with the Mead schools. However, students still continued to attend the local Highlandlake school, and more were bused from the surrounding area. Once the new brick school in Mead was built in 1917, children in the higher grades were bused to Mead, however, children in their first four years of school, still attended Highlandlake.
In 1913, the school district was pressing for further consolidation and the campaign to close the Highlandlake school permanently, was in full swing. When classes closed for winter break in 1920, the end of an era also closed with them. When the Highlandlake children returned to school, it was to the large Mead Consolidated school in Mead.
The newer section of the Highlandlake school building was torn down, however, the original one room was saved and moved down the road to the Old True place on the corner of CR 5 & CR 36 where it was used for many years for storage and eventually a garage. In the 1990s, the building was converted into a pre-school, thus bringing the old schoolhouse full circle once again. Today children come from all over the Mead area to attend this school and their annual Christmas programs and graduations held in the Highlandlake Church draw crowds of proud parents and relatives.
*Taken, in part, from the book, "Highlandlake, A Brief Account of it's History" by Pauli Driver Smith (now out of print). Published by Hollyhock Farms Publishing. © 1996 by Pauli Driver Smith. All rights reserved.
**It was recorded in the June 12, 1953 reunion minutes, that Emma Hubbell Shumway, the first teacher at the Highlandlake school (1877) passed away during the past year. (Reunion Records 1953-1980).
- Roster of students Highlandlake School 1901-1902
- Roster of students Highlandlake School 1912-1913
- Roster of students 1915-1916 (photo with students and teachers identified)
This page was updated on October 22, 2009