THIS CACHE IS ONLY AVAILABLE IN THE SUMMER ON DRY ROADS!!! You can make it here with a standard vehicle, but DO NOT attempt it if the roads are wet or there is a chance of moisture -- the road quickly becomes impassible and impossible even for the most experienced of drivers! You will also want to download the geocache listing as cell service really is hit and miss in the area!!
The 20th of a series of caches planned to be hidden at or near the historic rural schoolhouses of Routt County (RCSH - Routt County School Houses). See the first cache of this series (GC6QQ71) for a complete and updated list of the ones currently available - but this list will continue to grow as there were 96 schools which served Routt County neighborhoods from 1883 until 1960 when the rural districts consolidated.
The “Stone School” or Elkhead Rock School can be seen on the hillside North East of this point. It is PRIVATELY OWNED and is on PRIVATE LAND. Please do not attempt to gain access to the school.
The school is a two-story building built in 1915 with rock from the surrounding area, combining several of the Elkhead community schools. The new school was very “modern” for its time with running water, a modern furnace, electric generator and a full gymnasium in the basement of the school. Teachers boarded with local families until the teacherage was built on the hillside behind the school in 1917. Some students boarded with the teachers so that they could attend school. The school had indoor, flushing toilets by 1924! The Rock School closed during the 1936 term and classes were moved to the McKinley Ranch School.
After many years of disrepair, with nature taking over many aspects, both the school building and the teacherage have been restored by the Green family who now enjoy it during the summer months. The school building is also used as a hunting headquarters for a local outfitter in the autumn months. Every couple of years, tours are offered through the Hayden Heritage Center Museum in Hayden.
The book “Nothing Daunted:The Unexpected Education of Two Society Girls in the West” by Dorothy Wickenden tells the story through letters and stories by two of the first teachers to brave the winter of 1916 at the Elkhead Rock School!