Location Purdy, Washington | Built 1900 | |
One of the original settlers in Purdy, Washington, was Horace Knapp, an American Civil War veteran, and a huge advocate for education. Mr. Knapp donated land to build the schoolhouses in Purdy. The modern-day Peninsula High School now sits on the hill where one of these original schoolhouses was built.
The materials for the first schoolhouse were donated by Joseph Purdy (a grocer from Tacoma, Washington). The second Purdy Schoolhouse was built in 1900 to replace the original one that was abandoned in the 1890s (located on Sherman Avenue, or current day 68th Avenue in Purdy, WA). Students spent every other semester at either the Purdy Schoolhouse, or the Wauna, Washington Schoolhouse in order to keep both schools active. Besides academics, schoolhouses were also used for social activities such as pageants and plays.