Central School

Driving Directions

Address: (By Lehi Elementary) 899-601 N Center Lehi, UT (Roughly across the street from 730 N Center)

• The central school had a forty-foot bell-tower.

• The school almost burned down in 1898 when a spark from the chimney ignited a sparrow’s nest in the chimney. 500-people rushed to the school and formed a bucket brigade to put out the fire.

• It was renamed the Stanford school in 1908 but was still called Central school by many Lehi citizens.

• The school was closed during the “beet vacation” in October so that the youth could help with the harvest.

By 1891 schools in Lehi were overcrowded due to the influx of people to work at the Lehi sugar factory. To resolve this issue, Lehi City put forth one of the first city bonds to build a school. Fifty percent of the bond was raised through levies while the other half was established by the school district. Richard Klettering (who eventually designed the Utah State Capitol building) drafted up plans for the school. Central School was built in 1892 on the northeast corner of Sixth North and Center street which was the site of one of Lehi’s earliest molasses mill.

The school was originally built as an elementary school; however, in 1898, four additional rooms were added to include 8th and 9th graders. In 1907, 10th and 11th graders were added to the school with 12th graders following closely behind in 1908. The school became solely a high school (the first Lehi High School) when the grammar school was completed in 1910 and the younger students moved out. The Central School was used as the high school until it closed in 1921. The LDS Lehi Second ward which was meeting in the Lehi Tabernacle moved into the school and used it as a church meeting place until 1928. After 1928, the school was left vacant until it was demolished in 1933.

The Central School bell, which hung in the belfry for forty years, was rung every morning - first at 8:30 AM and then again at 9:00 AM to notify students that the school day had started. The bell could be heard anywhere in Lehi and was used to set clocks throughout the community. When the school was being demolished, Blanche Larsen bought the bell and donated it to the Hutchings museum for preservation and display.