Criterion Schoolhouse at state fairgrounds undergoes repairs, gains national recognition

Criterion Schoolhouse is being used again as a classroom nearly a century after its doors closed in remote central Oregon.

Heritage conservation specialist Chris Gustafson is the teacher, and Clatsop County Community College students are his pupils.

Gustafson is guiding repairs on the historic building at the Oregon State Fairgrounds. A half-dozen students from Clastsop's Historic Preservation and Restoration program are working alongside him to replace some of the siding.

"It's not just a construction job," Gustafson said. "We're a teaching organization. We're taking time for them to learn as much as possible."

He went through the same program at the Astoria college and is involving students in every step of the restoration process, from assessment to installation.

The students helped manufacture historically accurate siding for the schoolhouse. To do that, they had to make a profile of the molding knives needed to cut the rough-sawn, 1-by-6 boards, then had them custom-made.

They will replace an estimated 30% to 40% of the siding, most of it in the lower portion of the building, said Gustafson, who owns Vintage Window Restoration in Albany.

"What we're doing is being a little more proactive and preventing any future deterioration," he said.

When did the schoolhouse open?

The one-room schoolhouse served the unincorporated community of Criterion in Wasco County between Maupin and Madras.

It opened in 1912 and closed in 1925, partly because the community finally had a bus for transporting students up the hill to Maupin.

Sunday school, voting and dances took place at the schoolhouse for years, and a Grange hall operated there before the community shuttered the building in 1952. It was vacant until being purchased by a local rancher in 1969 and used for hay and grain storage.

How did it end up in Salem?

The Oregon Department of Education began searching statewide in 1975 for an abandoned one-room schoolhouse for a bicentennial project.

Officials considered more than 50 for relocation to the state fairgrounds, choosing Criterion because it was typical of early schoolhouses and was in excellent condition because of the dry climate in Wasco County.

Rainbow Construction managed the move with help from Oregon National Guard and Reserve units. They cut the building in half to ensure bridge clearance on the route to Salem.

The Statesman Journal published a photograph on July 17, 1976, of half the schoolhouse being towed on a flatbed on Lancaster Drive NE as the 200-mile journey came to an end.

Who takes care of the schoolhouse?

Criterion Schoolhouse is hidden in plain sight on the fairgrounds. It sits in the northwest corner of the 185-acre property in Green Acres Landscape Plaza. The back of the building is visible driving along 17th Street NE.

For years, the schoolhouse has been a tiny, unmarked rectangle on the fairgrounds map, a neglected building needing some TLC.

The state owns the schoolhouse, but retired teachers are the caretakers and custodians.

Volunteers from the Oregon Retired Educators Association, primarily members of the Salem unit, lead efforts to spruce it up every fall before the state fair. This year they will have the floor buffed.

Many of them sign up for three-hour shifts to be hosts when visitors come through during the 11-day fair run, the only time the schoolhouse is open to the public.

What restoration work has been done?

The association launched a "Save the Criterion Schoolhouse" campaign in 2017. Thanks to donations and small grants, the organization has given the historic building new life.

It had the roof replaced that year and installed new windows in 2019. This year, it is having some of the siding replaced.

Students from Clatsop's Historic Preservation and Restoration program gently removed planks of original shiplap siding, revealing minimal dry rot in the mud sill beam on the south side of the building and virtually none on the north side.

They plan to reuse as much of the siding as possible.

"It's old-growth material, dense and insect resistant," program director Ryan Prochaska said. "We can't get anything as good as this."

Why is preserving the schoolhouse important?

Schoolhouse volunteers like Robin Bodey, who delivered breakfast one morning to the crew, appreciate the students' careful and painstaking work.

"In California, I've seen so many schoolhouses left to rot because nobody cared enough to do anything," said Bodey, who moved to West Salem in 2021.

Pat Eck is one of the volunteers who has spearheaded restoration efforts when funds have been available.

"It'sreally important that we do it right and to the best of our ability," Eck said.

He and other association members see the schoolhouse as a tribute to the history of public education. Although it may not be eligible for consideration on the National Register of Historic Places because it was cut in half when moved, they believe it deserves recognition beyond Salem and Oregon.

Is the schoolhouse recognized nationally?

Eck submitted an application last year to the Country School Association of America for its National Schoolhouse Registry, and Criterion became the first in Oregon to be listed.

The Country School Association launched the National Schoolhouse Registry in 2009, identifying schools with historical and architectural significance and recognizing those who preserve them.

"It's similar to the National Register for houses, but that's the federal government," association board member Richard Lewis said. "We're not as restrictive. If you save a schoolhouse, we want to recognize that."

Applications are reviewed and researched by a committee that may include architects, historians and preservationists. Markers are awarded to school buildings that are at least 50 years old, have been restored, renovated or reconstructed to retain the integrity of their original design, and are well maintained.

Criterion Schoolhouse was the 68th school added to the registry. Today there are 71 schools listed.

How the community celebrate this treasure

The Oregon Retired Educators Association will dedicate the National Schoolhouse Registry marker Aug. 10 during a celebration at Criterion Schoolhouse.

It will be one of the rare times the school is open to the public outside of state fair hours.

Dignitaries and education stakeholders will attend the event, which begins at 10 a.m.

Vern Duncan is among the invited special guests. He was the state superintendent of public instruction when Criterion was chosen and relocated to Salem.

Association members hope the celebration brings awareness to the schoolhouse and efforts to preserve it as a treasure for generations.

Capi Lynn is a senior reporter for the Statesman Journal. Send comments, questions and tips to her at clynn@statesmanjournal.com or 503-399-6710. Follow her work on Twitter @CapiLynn and Facebook @CapiLynnSJ.

This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Criterion Schoolhouse undergoes repairs, gains national recognition