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Lyons walking tour
Item 14 of 15
The Montgomery Schoolhouse was built in 1917 and sits at the edge of town on private property. It is not within easy walking distance, but with a short drive you can view the structure. The building is a private residence and is not open to the public. Please view the building from the street.

Photo courtesy of Charles Keim

Photo courtesy of Charles Keim

The first Montgomery School was started in 1869 and was built on Boulder County land donated by the Montgomery family. Catherine (Kate) Gifford was one of the first teachers at the school. In 1869, she married John Reese. They had two children, Bertha and Frank. Bertha Reese married into the McConnell family, whose descendants still live in the area.1 Some of the other original teachers were J.H. Cox, Mrs. Milne, and William Wyncoop. After only five months the school ran out of money and it was closed for the year.2 

Another schoolhouse, referred to as the Old Montgomery School, was constructed east of Lyons and was completed in February of 1874. In order to pay for the building, property owners paid a two percent property tax.3  It consisted of a single room and was constructed from locally quarried sandstone with fourteen-inch thick walls. It served the area until 1917 when the school was torn down and replaced with a new building which was built by the Loukonen and Gross families.

Bonds in the amount of $3500 were used to build and furnish the new 1917 school building. It is a 30x40 foot bi-level building. The building was used as a school until the 1950s. It was purchased in 1965 by Wilbur and Hazel Wolfe, who restored and renovated the building in order to turn it into a private residence.4 

The Montgomery Schoolhouse remains on private property as a private residence.


1Benedict, Diane Goode Birth of a Quarry Town: 1800s Lyons, Colorado 2002. 19
2Berg, D.V Double Gateway to the Rockies 2010. 177
3Ibid.
4Ibid.