Snowmass History: Old Brush Creek School, 1966
Aspen Historical Society/courtesy photo
In an article from the Aspen Illustrated News published Sept. 8, 1966, the writer describes what one would see “if you drive westwards out of Aspen and turn up Brush Creek road towards the Snowmass Ski development.”
“You will pass two old school houses which date from the 1880s,” the article says. “There was a time, 1902, when the Pitkin County Superintendent’s record listed 15 schools under his jurisdiction. These included Lincoln, Garfield and Washington grade schools and the high school in Aspen, as well as 11 one-room schools that accommodated rural students through eighth-grade. … A picturesque addition to the lovely valley scene is the now abandoned Brush Creek School. Its quaint bell tower stands out against Mt. Daly’s granite slopes, making it a favorite subject for artists and photographers.”
The Brush Creek School, now the Little Red Schoolhouse, was built in 1894 after the rural community petitioned for a school in 1892.
