This larger, second, Tyler School was completed in 1912 at the north end of B Street.
There were three grades to a room. The high school was in the same building. There was a horse barn for the kids to stable their horses in and a shelter for cars to park.
Originally, there were two horse barns near the schoolhouse with room for 16 horses. Students who rode to school were responsible for bringing food for their horse.
In March 1918, school was closed due to a Smallpox outbreak. Several children were sickened with the disease and the school was closed for a week to help stop its spread. Dr. Cooper of Cheney spent a day in Tyler vaccinating about 25 people who had come in contact with any of the seven young people who were ill with the disease.
The first high school graduating class at Tyler was in 1919.
The Tyler schoolhouse also served the community as a place for dances and as a meeting hall for the Tyler Grange. Instead of paying cash, the grange members cut wood for the school to use and made repairs around the building in exchange for the $15 rent per year.
In 1936, Tyler became Consolidated District #316. About the same time, the district discontinued offering high school courses, and students either went to Cheney High School or Sprague High School to complete their graduation requirements.
The school continued to teach 1st through 8th grade students until 1958, when Tyler merged with Cheney School District and the Tyler school closed. The Tyler Grange bought the schoolhouse and grounds. They remodeled and updated the building.
Disaster struck on July 9, 1960 during a firestorm that swept through southwest Spokane County,
“An out-of-control brush-and-timber fire, near Williams and Badger lakes, had already burned down four houses and was threatening more farms and ranches in the vicinity. The fire swept through part of Tyler burning the old school down. The fire was spreading faster than men could run.” The fire apparently started along the railroad tracks. Hot weather contributed to the problem. [Cheney Free Press and Spokesman-Review]
Joan Mamanakis
5 Responses
My great grandfather Calvert
Looking for history on the Calvert family
And location of the Ranch near Amber Lake ! ( Road )
I’m looking for 1916-1917 photos of Cheney State Normal School, its students, buildings, normal school sports news; general photos of Cheney community life would be of interest too. My father Uri O. Attebery attended in those years and I attended 50 years later 1965-1970.
I’m finding or assuming lots of common activities of my dad and me. We likely lived in the same dorm, Monroe Hall and attended class in Showalter Hall.
Any help or direction you can provide.
Thank you Ken Attebery
I remember the Tyler school. I was nine years old when it burned down. I remember the dances they had at the school. We got to take our (brother-David and sister-Sharon) blankets and pillows and laid down to listen to the music and fell asleep. Dad-Jack Brown, would pick us up and put us in the car and off we would go home.
When the fire started, we didn’t see my dad for two days. He was making fire breaks at Amber. When the fire was at Tyler he heard that a fire had started at Sprague. He brought the CAT home and made a fire break around our house, barn and out buildings. While he did that, we watch and mom made him a lot of sandwiches and a
couple of therms of coffee, and off he went. We saw he a couple of days later when things had calm down.