Some history lessons are taught not from books, but from that of brick and mortar. Under the soft glow of autumn mornings, Marion County’s historic schools stand sentinel over the unfolding chapters of past and future scholars. Their slate roofs and heavy wooden doors guard stories of first alphabets learned and lifelong friendships formed in dusty corridors. Rooted in both pioneer resolve and 20th-century optimism, these schools remain living archives of local ambition and hope for the future, all while nurturing generations of learners in Marion County.
Leslie Middle School
3850 Pringle Road SE, Salem
Leslie Junior High first rang its bell in 1927, and for nearly 93 years, its original campus was a place where Salem’s young minds sharpened their skills, and occasionally their pencils. Its brick façades and wood-paneled corridors held the laughter of playground games and the hush of morning roll call.
A 2018 bond-funded expansion project would see the end of an era for the old Leslie complex as it was replaced with more modern learning spaces. Yet Leslie’s legacy was not lost: together with the State Historic Preservation Office, the district preserved sections of brickwork, original lockers, a PA system speaker and a vintage theatre seat. These relics now spotlight the school’s history in a dedicated, hands-on exhibit where students can trace the grooves of history. Though Leslie’s doors closed in 2020, its story lives on in every refurbished beam and salvaged artifact at Leslie Middle School.
Old Garfield School
528 Cottage Street NE, Salem
Since its completion in 1909, Old Garfield School’s American Renaissance–style brick façade and classical cornices have served as a steadfast landmark in downtown Salem. The School Board’s 1908 land purchase paved the way for a March 1909 bond vote, which was mobilized when a wooden schoolhouse fire threatened the lives of 550 students just two days before the vote.
Designed by local architect Frank A. Legg, Garfield was Salem’s first public elementary school built of brick and concrete, a deliberate choice born of safety and permanence. The school would be named after the 20th President of the United States, James A. Garfield. When enrollment patterns shifted, the district closed Garfield in 1973, but the building never lost its purpose. A 1974 adaptive-reuse project converted classrooms into office suites, added minimal interior partitions and installed an elevator while safeguarding staircases and window surrounds. Recognized on the National Register of Historic Places in 1981, the structure preserves the silent symphony of school days gone by.
Victor Point School
1175 Victor Point Road SE, Silverton
Built in October 1889 among towering firs, Victor Point School’s one-room design measured just 32 by 24 feet, its simple clapboard walls and pitched roof rising above the countryside between Sublimity and Silverton and topped with a bell tower whose heavy black bell summoned generations of school children. Its unique name was coined by a pragmatic local mother, Mary Darby, who ended a heated debate over the school’s location by reminding local citizens that just the decision alone to build a school in the emerging region was in and of itself a victory and thus, Victor Point was born.
For over half a century, the school served as the vibrant heart of a thriving community that grew to include a general store, post office, and bandstand. Though the surrounding town faded away by the 1920s, the school endured until 1946. Saved from oblivion by a dedicated historical society, it was finally honored with a place on the National Register of Historic Places in 1996, ensuring its story would echo long after its bell tower was gone.
Chemawa Indian School
3700 Chemawa Road NE, Salem
The oldest continuously operating boarding school for Native Americans in the United States, Chemawa Indian School has a history unlike any other. Founded in 1880 as the Forest Grove Indian Industrial Training School, its initial mission was to assimilate students into American culture, a then difficult lesson that involved the suppression of Native languages and traditions.
While its early purpose was a painful chapter in the history lesson, its mission has since undergone its own evolution. Today, Chemawa has transformed into a fully accredited high school, fiercely dedicated to honoring and integrating cultural identity into its curriculum. It now proudly fosters the very traditions it was once meant to suppress, serving as a beacon for Native students from across the U.S. This evolution from a painful past to a hopeful present makes it one of the most historically significant and dynamic schools in the state.
Though some of Marion County’s historic schools no longer ring with daily lessons, they continue to educate through their preserved halls, salvaged artifacts and the stories they inspire. From Leslie’s refurbished beams to Garfield’s classical cornices, each building stands as a living guidepost to our shared past and a reminder of the resilience and vision that built today’s Salem communities.
