Page Comparison - Canyon Creek Schoolhouse Laboratory 100th Anniversary Schoolhouse (v.28 vs v.29)

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From Schoolhouse to Playhouse:
A Brief History of the Canyon Creek Schoolhouse, 1894-Now

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A colorized photo of the Canyon Creek Schoolhouse Laboratory with a dirt road leading past it

The Canyon Creek Schoolhouse opened to students in 1894. At that time, the schoolhouse was about a mile from the town of Hamilton. You might think of a schoolhouse of this time as being a one-room wooden building, but the Canyon Creek Schoolhouse was a two-story building constructed from locally-made bricks.

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Image: Office of NIH History and Stetten Museum, 01465

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A man rides a horse over a bridge with a town in the background. Taken from some height.

The schoolhouse was located on the west side of the Bitterroot River near a bridge that connected the town of Canyon Creek to the town of Hamilton, Montana.

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Image: Courtesy of Dr. Marshall Bloom

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The laboratory was located in the schoolhouse for only seven years, when a new building constructed especially for research and vaccine production was opened. After the laboratory moved, the Canyon Creek Schoolhouse wasn’t used until Dr. William Jellison bought the building in 1966 and created a museum in it. The exhibits featured science, Native American artifacts, natural science, local artists, and the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Jellison began working at the Rocky Mountain Laboratories (RML) before he had even graduated college and eventually became a Public Health Service officer and entomologist at RML. After his death, the museum’s collections were transferred to the Montana Historical Society in Hamilton. The building sat empty again.

Read his oral history.

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Images: Rocky Mountain Laboratories, 2715

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It wasn’t until August 1995 that the Canyon Creek Schoolhouse began its fourth life—this time as a playhouse for the theater group called The Hamilton Players, who had bought the building from the Jellison family. The passage of time had done its damage; the upper floor and attic were taken down. Volunteers helped to renovate the building, including a detachment of U.S. Navy SeaBees (the Navy’s construction battalions).

Now you can see a show where children once learned, scientists once produced a life-saving vaccine, and a museum once educated visitors.

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One story red brick building with handicap access ramp under a blue sky

The former schoolhouse became a one-story building. While the upper floors had to be taken down, the Hamilton Players eventually added a lobby, office, Green Room, and back stage.

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Image: Courtesy of the Hamilton Players.

Versions Compared

Old Version 28

New Version 29

Key

From Schoolhouse to Playhouse:
A Brief History of the Canyon Creek Schoolhouse, 1894-Now

Office of NIH History and Stetten Museum

Versions Compared

Old Version 28

New Version 29

Key

From Schoolhouse to Playhouse:A Brief History of the Canyon Creek Schoolhouse, 1894-Now

From Schoolhouse to Playhouse:
A Brief History of the Canyon Creek Schoolhouse, 1894-Now