In 1905 the village of Holden got its first school. It was a simple one room schoolhouse named Pleasant Ridge School. It was built a half mile north of the current school site. The first teacher instructing the children of the town in the new schoolhouse was Miss Lottie Brisbin.
As the population of Holden and the surrounding area filled with settlers and their families, the need for a larger school became urgent. In late 1911 a beautiful brick schoolhouse was constructed. It contained two large classrooms and cost $7000.00 to construct. It was built on the same site as the current school, but was located to the east and closer to the old parking lot that faces the slough. 40 pupils were reported to be in attendance.
“As schools in the surrounding districts closed, a four room high school, small library and small office were built in 1951. The swelling of the school population forced the split level addition in 1954. The building of a new elementary school and large gymnasium took place in 1956 and in 1965 a modern library and two additional classrooms were added.” p. 111 Hemstitches and Hackamores
Thank you to the folks at the Holden Museum for putting this information together for us!
Holden Rural Academy 