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History |
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In 1904 Cassia County Superintendent Professor H. H. Thornton came to Twin Falls to teach the first 72 students in a small building that was heated by a small stove that burned sage brush. In fact, the first "Christmas Tree" was a tall sagebrush students dressed with decorations from home.
By the next spring it was decided more room was needed to teach more students. Professor Thornton advised that to have a school building big enough, the building would need eight rooms and six more teachers. The new brick building was finished in 1906 and called Bickel Elementary.
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Bickel was named after Paul S. Bickel, the Chief Engineer for the Twin Falls Land and Water Company at that time. Over the next two years the Twin Falls economy grew big enough that a new school was needed; the new school was called Lincoln Elementary. The year Lincoln Elementary was built Bickel added four temporary rooms and rented other rooms from outside resources.
The growth of students in Twin Falls was remarkable. In 1904, Bickel's first year, there were 100 students. The next year there were 500, and in 1906 there were 800 students. In 1908 there were 1200 pupils and 26 teachers. In 1908 the first graduating class of Twin Falls High School held its graduation at Bickel Elementary!
During the 1920’s a Japanese school operated for several years during the summer months at Bickel to provide opportunities for the children to study calligraphy, origami, and music as well as to learn to speak and read Japanese.
The original Bickel Elementary School eventually needed to be replaced by the current structure. While the new school was being built in its present location, the old building was being completely renovated. In the summer of 1938 the new school was almost finished.
In August of that year a fire started between the two buildings. The fire only damaged the corners of the old building and firemen extinguished the blaze. The greatest damage to the old building was water damage. As a result of the damage the original Bickel School was torn down brick by brick. The new school was finished by the time the old Bickel had been torn down. |
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