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Woodin Family
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Each of the early settlements in the area assumed responsibility for schooling their children. Children in the Woodinville-Bothell area, including the children of Brackett's Landing, attended school in the home of the first Woodinville settlers Ira, 38, and Susan, 23, Woodin.
The Bothell School District came into existence in 1885 because 15 children were traveling a considerable distance from Bothell to the home of the Woodins to attend school. School kids would run or ride horses along wooded paths or catch a quick rowboat trip on Squak Slough to reach school on time. Families of the community wanted them to be educated closer to home.
Some of Bothell's early residents, including David Bothell, John Keener, Andrew Beckstrom, John Blyth, P. J. Quartman, T. M. Boone, Alfred Pearson and John Larson, petitioned for a division of the Woodinville School District. The school district (#46) was formed at the November meeting of the King County Commissioners in 1885. The first board of directors of the new Bothell School District consisted of Bothell, Keener and Beckstrom.
After a subscription raised funds for a one-room building, the first Bothell school house started construction in 1885, on property donated by David Bothell on what later became 10221 Main Street. It was one room, 20'x26' for grades 1 through 8. The opening was delayed for a week by a snowstorm until March 29, 1886.
Settlers subscribed enough money that first winter to hire Bothell's first teacher, pretty Miss Helen Godwin DeVoe, 29, originally from New York state. She was hired for a two-month(note1) term for $40 to teach 23(note2) children. Miss DeVoe had previously homesteaded 160 acres north of Bothell. She stayed for ten and one-half months (three terms).
Enough money was found to extend the first term by one month. The pupils then had a vacation until funds were raised for two additional sessions the following year. Terms were two, three or four months and were for as long as the money would allow payments of the teacher, until 1907, when the school term was set at 10 months by the Superintendent Henry Simonds.
Some of her first students were William Keener, Albert Bothell, Annie Beckstrom, George Brackett. Lizzie and Katie Anderson, Frank and Mattie Bennent, Adolph Larson, Charles, Bust and Henning Pearson, Maggie Quartman and Lydia Wissinger.
Increasing enrollment calling for expanding the school, but before adding to the site, the school board thought they should have a deed to the site gifted by David Bothell. By this time, he had changed his mind and the community voted to sell or dispose of the building and look for another site.
The school board authorized the purchase of a new site and expenditures not to exceed $2,000 for a new, larger building and additional furniture for the growing school population on January 24, 1889.
When the schoolhouse ceased to function as a school in 1890 it was sold and converted to a private home. On April 25, 1989, the structure was moved to the Park at Bothell Landing where it was restored (with a few differences: e.g., the entry door originally had three-panels and a single window) and furnished with historic desks and school memorabilia. The bell from the second school (1890) went into a tower beside it.
note 1: This has been reported as a two month and a three month term. We are assuming that the three month term was derived by adding the additional month to the original two month term.
note 2: Also reported as 26 children.
In 1907 Bothell School District #46 built another school on the same hilltop site to provide local high school education. The new school with its boxy, columned style, resembled many of the traditional schools then being built in Seattle. Pupils in grades 1-8 attended classes on the lower floor's two large rooms and the high school students, grades 9-12, learned in classrooms on the upper floor.