Rittenhouse Elementary School

Rittenhouse Elementary School
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Location	Ellsworth Rd., 1 mi. N of Rittenhouse Rd., Queen Creek, Arizona
Area	4.2 acres (1.7 ha)
NRHP reference No.	98000053
Added to NRHP	February 5, 1998

Rittenhouse Elementary School

The Rittenhouse Elementary School, built in 1925, is a well-preserved historical schoolhouse located in Queen Creek, Arizona, approximately 35 miles (56 km) southeast of downtown Phoenix, Arizona. The school was built for the then small rural agricultural community of Rittenhouse, and operated until 1982. Although completed in 1925, the first classes in the new building were not held until 1926.. In 1947, the residents changed the name of the community from Rittenhouse to Queen Creek, but the school retained its original name. The school closed in 1982, and was subsequently used for storage by the Queen Creek Unified School District. On June 21, 1994, the San Tan Historical Society signed an agreement with the Queen_Creek_Unified_School_District, which allowed the San Tan Historical Society to oversee the building’s restoration and start a historical museum. INSERT LEASE AGREEMENT REFERENCE HERE The San Tan Historical Society immediately began the National Register of Historic Places website (NRHP) nomination process for the building, while simultaneoulsy raising funds for its restoration. In 1990, the building was nominated to the NRHP, and the building was listed in the NRHP in 1998.

At the same time, the Rittenhouse Elementary School was also listed in the Arizona Register of Historic Places. This listing includes Arizona’s historic districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects worthy of preservation. Arizona adopted the National Register criteria for evaluating eligibility for the State Register. Arizona’s historic properties are protected under Arizona State Statutes §41-861 through §41-864, which directs state agencies to preserve and protect historic properties under their ownership or control.

The Rittenhouse Elementary School/San Tan Historical Society Museum continue to serve as an important focal point for the community of Queen Creek. The history of the school and the community are the focus of the museum. The school grounds display some of the original playground equipment. Antique farm equipment, which pays homage to the agricultural history of Queen Creek, is also displayed around the building's exterior. Inside the museum are permanent and changing exhibits reflecting the history of the school and the community, a small lending library focusing on the history of Queen Creek and the surrounding area, and numerous historical photographs of the school and its students.

History

From 1920 to 1922, the first classes in the Rittenhouse/Queen Creek area were held in a small [[1]][1]] building that had been used as a cook shack. The cook shack had been used by who were employed to clear land for G.R. or "Gid" Duncan. Duncan was a partner of land developer Charles Rittenhouse, after whom the school was named. Duncan allowed the use of the building and land for the school. In early 1923, school officials acquired the use of a ca. 1921 wooden church building, which served as the community school until 1925.

With increasing development and population growth in the 1920s, area school officials realized that a permanent school building was needed. In 1924, construction began on the Rittenhouse Elementary School, a three-room, U-shaped red brick building. Notable features of the building included transom windows and tongue-and-groove maple floors. The interior included recessed roll-down doors that could be retracted or engaged to change the room configuration, a small wooden stage, and slate chalkboards in the classrooms. Until construction of the indoor restrooms in 1936-1937, pupils and school staff used an outhouse located behind the school. In winter, heat was provided by wood-burning stoves.

In the fall of 1926,the first classes for English-speaking students were held in the new Rittenhouse Elementary School. In the meantime, the wooden church building continued to be used as a school for children of Mexican descent, where they were taught English in preparation for entering the main Rittenhouse Elementary School. The Mexican-American children’s school schedule was different than that of the other children, who didn’t attend school until after the cotton harvest was complete, usually sometime in February. Sometimes as many as 60 students were taught in a single room.

In 1936-1937, the school district took advantage of federal Public Works Administration [Works Administration] funds to add two classrooms, hallways, and restrooms. Heat for the rooms was provided by a boiler system, which replaced the wood-burning stoves used in the original classrooms. The intact boiler room is a small subfloor room underneath the boys’ restroom. The rooms were eventually equipped with oil heaters, and eventually gas heaters hung from the ceilings. Additional changes occurred to the building in the mid-1950s, when a combination shower/locker room was added to the rear, or east side, of the building. By 1955, the Rittenhouse Elementary School, which was now called "Old Main," was the centerpiece for the community of Queen Creek. Flooding in 1966 damaged the wooden floor; the flooring near the main entry is still warped as a result.

In 1948, Queen Creek School District officials realized that population growth in the area necessitated the construction of a new elementary school. In February of 1948, officials authorized a bond issue for construction of a new elementary school in Queen Creek. Completed in 1952, the new school operated simultaneously with the older Rittenhouse Elementary School. As mentioned above, the building was closed from 1982 and subsequently leased to the San Tan Historical Society, who started the San Tan Historical Society Museum.

The Rittenhouse Elementary School is fondly remembered by its numerous alumni, teachers, administrators, and the community. The San Tan Historical Society displays photographs of every class that attended the Rittenhouse Elementary School, and the notes on the chalkboard from the last day of school in 1982 have been preserved. Although the town of Queen Creek has changed dramatically over the years, the Rittenhouse Elementary School has survived with very few changes, and is still the heart of the community.

Architecture

The single-story Rittenhouse Elementary School was built in the [Colonial Revival] style. The building was built on a concrete foundation with a crawlspace beneath the building; the brick walls rest directly on the wooden floor. Because the floor is raised, three sets of original concrete steps (three steps each) provide access to the building at the main entryway and the two side entryways. Sometime after 2000, wheelchair accessible ramps were added to both side entryways.

The large windows in the classrooms are "six-over-six" windows with operable transoms above. The front entry doors are the original wooden doors surmounted by a semi-circular transom window. Brick pilasters are located at the corners of the schoolhouse, and serve to accentuate the eave returns above. The building contains several brick chimneys with corbelling at the top. Character-defining elements include a wood-trimmed alcove containing coat hooks, cubby holes, and a storage closet. The well-preserved original slate blackboards are still intact.

A unique feature within the auditorium space is the two overhead roll-up doors which remain intact. These doors allowed the central auditorium space to triple in size to include the adjacent classrooms. The stage was accessed by from the classroom hallway by a narrow door, approximately 16 in × 48 in size and elevated 24 inches (61 cm) off the floor. While the original stage door exists, the stage in the museum today is a reconstruction, the original having been removed years ago to allow for a home-economics class. The tile work in both restrooms is original, and the boys' lockers are still in place. The building’s exterior was painted historically, but the paint was removed to reveal the original red brick exerior and several decades of student graffiti carved into the bricks. This graffiti serves as a valuable historical record of the school and its students, and has been preserved.

The floors in the original portion of the building are stained maple tongue-and-groove while the floors in the later classroom additions are colored concrete with a 2 by 2 feet (0.61 m × 0.61 m) square score pattern. During modern restoration, the modern acoustical ceiling was removed, and the original plaster ceilings were exposed, repaired, and painted. Aside from the two side entries, all of the original doors are intact, but much of the historic hardware has been replaced over the years. The interior walls are plastered and painted, and painted wood trim is present throughout the building.

National Register of Historic Places Eligibility

The Rittenhouse Elementary School was nominated to the NRHP under NRHP Criterion A for its association "with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of history." More specifically, the Rittenhouse Elementary School is significant as an example of the broad pattern of centralizing rural education in Arizona prior to World War Two. The Rittenhouse Elementary School also retains integrity of historical setting and appearance, both on the interior and exterior. The Rittenhouse Elementary School is also the only extant historical school building in Queen Creek.

Historical Context

In the early twentieth century, increased population, better transportation, concentrated development, and the desire for improved educational facilities contributed to the centralization of rural Arizona schools and the construction of the Rittenhouse Elementary School. Centralization of rural schools was emphasized on a national level through the 1930s, as evidenced by the 1935 report by the U.S. Commissioner of Education stressing the need to reorganize the school system. To address this need, Rittenhouse officials and the local school district decided that, although other schools existed in nearby communities, it was more efficient and economical to create a new school within the students’ community rather than transport them to existing schools in distant communities. This pattern of rural school centralization was carried out throughout Arizona through 1940, and mirrored efforts in other rural communities throughout the United States in the first half of the twentieth century.

Structural Context

The interior of the building maintains a high degree of integrity with most of the original fabric intact. Most interior modifications have been cosmetic rather than structural. Aside from reconstructing the stage, no major repairs or restoration have been necessary. Several well-preserved interior structural elements contribute to the unique and historical character of the building. The original wood-trimmed alcoves—present in all four classrooms—contain coat hooks, cubby holes, and a storage closet. The original slate blackboards are intact, and text from the last day of classes in 1982 has been preserved. The floors in the original portion of the building are stained maple tongue-and-groove, and the floors in the 1930s-era classrooms are colored concrete. All of the original doors are intact, but much of the historic hardware has been replaced over the years. The restroom fixtures within the boys’ restroom may be original while the fixtures within the girls’ restroom are not.

Historical Modifications

The 1936-1937 classrooms additions matched the original building both in style and materials, and do not detract from the historical integrity of the building. During the modern era (post-1946), the open space between the classroom wings was filled in to create shower rooms, which were accessed through the existing restrooms as well as from the building’s exterior. This infill is not visible from the street view of the building, and does not detract from the overall historical feeling and appearance of the building. The stage was dismantled sometime during the modern period (post-1946) to allow more classroom space.

Restoration

In 2002, the San Tan Historical Society took over the Rittenhouse Elementary School, and began the long process of restoring the building. Although structurally sound, more than 70 years of cosmetic alterations had to be undone in order to restore the building to its original appearance. Numerous layers of paint were removed to expose the original red brick exterior. The paint removal revealed hundreds of graffiti etched into the bricks by former students; this graffiti provides an invaluable historical record of the school. Modern acoustic tile was removed from the interior ceiling to reveal the original plastered ceiling, which was restored and painted to match the original interior colors. The stage was reconstructed in the early 2000s. The wooden floor is undergoing research and analysis for restoration by a local historical architecture firm. Brick repointing of the nearly 90-year old brick mortar is being conducted by a local brick and mortar preservation expert.

Citations

1. National Register of Historic Places, “Rittenhouse Elementary School Nomination Form,” Section 7, 1. http://pdfhost.focus.nps.gov/docs/NRHP/Text/98000053.pdf. Accessed April 28, 2013. 2. Queen Creek Unified School District Easement Agreement. 1994. On file, San Tan Historical Society Museum, Queen Creek, Arizona. 3. “What is the Arizona Register of Historic Places?” Arizona State Parks State Historic Preservation Office. http://azstateparks.com/SHPO/nationalregister.html#q04. Accessed April 28, 2013. 4. San Tan Historical Society, “Founding Families,” Accessed April 28, 2013, http://www.queencreek.org/index.aspx?page=280 5. David Salge, Images of America: Around San Tan Mountain, Arcadia Publishing, 112. 6. Rittenhouse NRHP Form, Section 8, 6 7. Ibid. Section 7, 2 8. Salge, Around San Tan Mountain, 113 9. Ibid, 116 10. “A Perfect San Tan Storm,” San Tan Shadows Summer Newsletter, July 2012. On file, San Tan Historical Society Museum. 11. Rittenhouse NRHP Form, Section 7, 1 12. Ibid, Section 7, 2 13. Ibid. 14. Salge, Around San Tan Mountain, 111 15. Rittenhouse NRHP Form, Section 7, 2 16. National Park Services, “Removing Graffiti from Historic Masonry National Park Services,” Technical Brief 38, http://www.nps.gov/tps/how-to-preserve/briefs/38-remove-graffiti.htm. Accessed April 29, 2013. 17. Rittenhouse NRHP Form, Section 7, 2 18. Ibid. Administrative pages 19. Ibid. Section 8, 3 20. Ibid. Section 8, 8 21. Ibid. Section 7 page 2 22. Ibid.

REFERENCES

Arizona State Parks, “What is the Arizona Register of Historic Places?” Arizona State Parks State Historic Preservation Office. http://azstateparks.com/SHPO/nationalregister.html#q04. Accessed April 28, 2013. Last accessed April 28, 2013.

National Register of Historic Places, “Rittenhouse Elementary School Nomination Form,” http://pdfhost.focus.nps.gov/docs/NRHP/Text/98000053.pdf. Last accessed April 28, 2013.

National Park Service, “Removing Graffiti from Historic Masonry,” National Park Services Technical Brief 38, http://www.nps.gov/tps/how-to-preserve/briefs/38-remove-graffiti.htm. Accessed April 29, 2013.

Queen Creek Unified School District Easement Agreement. 1994. On file, San Tan Historical Society Museum, Queen Creek, Arizona.

Salge, David, 2007. Images of America: Around San Tan Mountain. Arcadia Publishing, San Francisco. (pages 111-116). ISBN-13 978-0-7385-4895-1

San Tan Chapter of the Arizona Archaeological Society: http://www.azarchsoc.org/SanTan. Accessed April 26, 2013.

San Tan Historical Society, “Founding Families,” Accessed April 28, 2013, http://www.queencreek.org/index.aspx?page=280.

San Tan Historical Society website, http://www.queencreek.org/index.aspx?page=28. Accessed April 29, 2013.

Sossaman, Sue, 1996, Queen Creek. A History. San Tan Historical Society, Queen Creek, Arizona.

See Also

• San Tan Chapter of the Arizona Archaeological Society
• San Tan Historical Society