Mt. Pleasant School
a.k.a. 5AL.89
Jct. of Cty Rd. 3 S and Rd. 103 S, Alamosa, COThe Mt. Pleasant School meets the registration requirements of the schoolhouse property type as delineated in the MPDF Rural School Buildings of Colorado. Schoolhouses are associated with the influence of formal education on the development of rural settlements. These buildings provide physical evidence about the conditions of rural education that prevailed in Colorado well into the mid-twentieth century. They are therefore eligible under Criterion A for historical significance in the area of Education. Built in 1911, the Mt. Pleasant School was the third building at this location to serve as the area's only school. Some families in the community sent three generations of children to this school building (or one of its predecessors). In continual use until 1965, the Mt. Pleasant School was the last one-room school in use in the Alamosa area. For its association with public education in rural Colorado, this building is eligible under Criterion A.
Mt. Pleasant School was the only public building on the rural landscape. It functioned not only as a center for education, but also served as a focus of community life by hosting a variety of activities. For this reason, the building is also notable for its association with the social history of the community.
The Mt. Pleasant School embodies the distinctive characteristics of a building type and is therefore eligible under Criterion C for its architectural significance. The building's purpose is easily discernable by its form. In its size, scale, window placement, and interior configuration, the building epitomizes the schoolhouse property type. Its clustered windows and hipped roof reflect turn-of-the-century "innovations" in rural school design. The predominant architectural feature on Mt. Pleasant's otherwise utilitarian form is the unusual corner bell tower/entrance. Belfries were viewed as status symbols; most were simple affairs, but a few were topped with elaborate roofs. The tower's concave roof slope is an unusual feature.
The period of significance begins in 1911 when the building was constructed. Although the school remained in operation until 1965, the period of significance ends in 1956 in order to comply with the National Register's 50-year rule.
Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 2006.
The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the Nation’s historic places worthy of preservation. Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America’s historic and archeological resources.