Evaline School to host 140th anniversary celebration on May 18; Hope Grange’s 120th anniversary celebration to follow

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Evaline School is celebrating its 140th anniversary with an open house on Saturday, May 18.

The Winlock-based public elementary school serves students in kindergarten through sixth grade, with up to 61 students enrolled in the 2023-24 school year, according to a news release. 

The school was established in 1883 and operated as a two-room school until it was renovated in 2012 to modernize the space and add a lift, according to a news release from the school.

The school added a portable building in 2022 to serve as an office and additional classroom space and finished upgrading its water system this year.

The school is currently working on an “extensive playground improvement project, which should be done by the end of this school year,” according to a news release.

“We value incorporating hands-on activities, traditions and community involvement into our learning,” Evaline School said in a news release. “We have recently also added a number of science-related activities, including gardening and a salmon project. We value the incorporation of social-emotional skills within all aspects of learning, assisting our students in being students of character and supporting overall wellbeing which increases their ability to learn and grow.”

Evaline School is located at 111 Schoolhouse Road in Winlock.

Doors open at 12:30 p.m., with presentations and speakers beginning at 1 p.m. and the open house closing at 2:30 p.m. Light refreshments will be provided.



Evaline School encourages anyone with questions or accessibility needs to contact the school at 360-785-3460 or reach out to community liaison Susanne Duren at sduren@evalinesd.k12.wa.us

“We greatly encourage you to also attend the 120th Anniversary celebration of our community partner, Hope Grange, following our program. Their presentations are scheduled to begin at 2:45 p.m.,” Evaline School stated in a news release.

Located at 120 Antrim Road in Winlock, Hope Grange #155 is one of 11 Grange halls in Lewis County. Grange members meet the first Tuesday of every month, with a potluck starting at 6 p.m. and a meeting beginning at 7 p.m.

History of Evaline School District: 

The Superintendent of Schools approved a petition in 1883 to establish local School District No. 36. A donated log barn housed the first students until it was destroyed in the  late 1880s by a falling tree.  A new one-room school was constructed in 1890.  This frame-built structure was called Browns's School because the lumber was donated by Brown's Mill.

When the local post office opened in 1906, it was named after the postmaster's wife, Evaline, the school adopted the same name.  The one-room Evaline School was dismantled around 1908 and replaced with a two-room structure.  Expanding to meet the need, a new four-room structure was built in 1913.  The new school had a full basement, furnace- and indoor pluming!  This building was destroyed by fire in 1925 and the present two-room was constructed.  The school used coal for heat until 2005 when heat pumps were purchased with a grant.  In 2011, making sure to keep the buildings footprint intact, the interior of the building was remodeled to make better use of the basement and classroom space.   

School District No. 36 is Lewis County's oldest continuously operating school district, and the Evaline School is one of the last remaining two-room schools in Washington. Many of today's pupils are third and fourth generation Evaline students.  The school averages 45 students per year, ranging from kindergarten through sixth grade. 

Source: https://www.evalinesd.k12.wa.us/about