Award-winning renovation

The historic Clayton Schoolhouse is one of 11 recipients of the 2006 State Historic Preservation Officer’s Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Historic Preservation, the Washington State Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation said

Award recipients were scheduled to be recognized during a special ceremony Tuesday in Olympia.

The Clayton schoolhouse was awarded the Special Achievement Award. The schoolhouse, completed in 1915, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and the Washington Heritage Registry.

Burton Construction completed the $1 million renovation of the two-story structure last March.

The 7,200-square-foot building is owned by the Deer Park School District and sits on five acres at Swenson and Park Street, 10 miles north of Deer Park.

The schoolhouse is used for the district’s Home Link Program, a contract-based program for home-schooled students.

Architect Ernie Robeson said that the most difficult portion of the renovation was to provide space for modern systems. The building retains its historic features but has new mechanical, electrical, lighting, fire protection, security, data and computer cabling systems that not only meet code but are integrated into the old structure.

The exterior appears as it did in the early 1900s, except for a few required building code updates. The original bell tower has been refurbished, and the bell actually rings.

The school and a few masonry houses are all that remain from this bygone era in Clayton, a company town that was developed around Washington Brick & Lime Co. The company produced more than 20 million bricks a year and was the largest supplier of bricks and terra cotta in the Northwest.

According to Robeson, all of the major brick and terra cotta structures in downtown Spokane were built from materials made at the Clayton plant. A terra cotta ram’s head over the front entry of the schoolhouse matches those on the Davenport Hotel, said Robeson.