This week many children, college students and teachers are heading back to school. In Salem in the 19th century the first schoolhouse was a log cabin, and the school year was shorter than it is now, and only for elementary school. By the turn of the century, Salem had grown to have five schools, but they were all of wood, and susceptible to fire. By 1909, the Salem community voted to fund the construction of its first brick school, Garfield school, in order to reduce the risk of fire. While Salem had passed school levy to set aside taxpayer funds to pay for schools, in rural areas across Oregon in the early part of the 20th century one room school houses were still common. The Criterion Schoolhouse (now here in Salem) is an example of this type of school in our community. If you’d like to learn more, please visit https://oregonstatefair.org/attractions/criterion-school/
