The Davie School (also known as the Old Davie School) is a historic

school A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes comp ...

Davie Davie is a surname and a form of the masculine given name David. It can refer to: Surname * Alan Davie (1920-2014), Scottish painter and musician * Alexander Edmund Batson Davie (1847-1889), Canadian politician and eighth Premier of British Co ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, USA. It is located at 6650 Griffin Road. It was designed by August Geiger. It opened its doors in 1918 to 90 students, and was in continuous use as a school until 1978. On March 29, 1988, it was added to the

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National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

. It is the oldest extant school building in Broward County.

School building

The architect Geiger was hired by the school board in 1917 and presented them with his plans for the school that September. It is a T-shaped two-story building constructed of concrete with a textured stucco finish. The building has a hip roof with a surrounding parapet. Architectural elements include horseshoe and bell-shaped openings, raised bands of stucco and multiple panel windows.

History

Until the early 20th century, what is now Davie was considered an impenetrable swamp, accessible only by water. At first, school was held in a room at the general store along a canal, and in 1911, a two-room wooden structure was built for the growing population of Zona (what is now Davie). Built in 1917 it was the first permanent school in what had been The Everglades. The second floor auditorium was used for a variety of civic purposes. It functioned continuously as a school until 1979. In 1977 Davie built a new elementary school, the next year nearby students were taught there until the completion of Griffin Elementary School in 1979.

Modern times

The city of Davie negotiated the purchase of the land around the schoolhouse from the Broward County School District in 1998, at that time the school building was being used as an event venue. In 2008 after being closed to the public for nearly 20 years the Davie school reopened as the Old Davie School Historical Museum, with exhibits about life and agriculture during the development of Davie in the 1920s. Adjacent to the school is the 1930s period Viele House, a

historic house museum A historic house museum is a house of historic significance that has been transformed into a museum. Historic furnishings may be displayed in a way that reflects their original placement and usage in a home. Historic house museums are held to a ...

, and the Pioneer House, a replica of a 1908 early settler's shack.

References

External links

*
Broward County listings
a
National Register of Historic PlacesOld Davie Schoolhouse
at Broward County'
list of NRHP sites
Public elementary schools in Florida Museums in Broward County, Florida National Register of Historic Places in Broward County, Florida History museums in Florida Davie, Florida {{Florida-museum-stub