The First Brick School in Bixby

By Linda Boles

 

The cornerstone for the first brick school building in Bixby was dedicated in November of 1908. The school board consisted of M. F. Young, Bob Bennett and George Wiles. Miss Lena Wright was the Superintendent of Schools.

The first day of class was April 12, 1909 and the six room, two story building housed primary through senior classes. However, there were no juniors or seniors for several years. By 1915 the enrollment at the Bixby Public School was 240 students and an addition was being built onto the building for offices and additional classrooms.

In 1920-21 a new two-story brick high school was built next door and the original building was used for primary through sixth grade classes.

The first building, shown in the photo above, was torn down in 1937 to make way for a new and larger elementary school building. The cornerstone was saved and now resides on the corner of Main and Fifth Streets, near the building's original site.

Written at the bottom of the photo: New School House, Bixby Okla. Cost Finished $10.000.