Clear Lake School Building History

The Clear Lake community school building began with shared space in Joseph Hewitt’s cabin, growing with the community to multi building complexes for Elementary and Junior/Senior high students.

Clear Creek Elementary School 2025

CL High School 2025

As early as 1855, Joseph Hewitt, one of the first settlers, had a school in his log cabin on the south shore, run by a female teacher who was paid $1 per student plus room and board. By 1857, a more public school was available in town —a 26 X26’ wood building which also served as a church, town hall, and court-house located at 40 N 4 th Street, The building, just behind the original Clear Lake Bank, in the photo below, has cupula housing the school bell. That structure survives and was moved to 906 S. 3rd Street; it’s now a private residence.

In 1872, a high school building was erected on what is now the Clausen property. That wood frame, barn-like building, has been renovated and used as a vacation rental, located at 201 N. 5th Street, between the library and the large yellow Clausen home.

By 1874, Clear Lake formed an independent school district and by 1883, there were 324 students, 163 males and 161 females, as well as six teachers. The 1880 census counted 775 Clear Lake residents. By 1890, 1,130, and by 1900, 1,706 people lived in town. In 1889, a school was constructed at North 8th Street and Seventh Avenue North, but it proved too small by 1899.

A more ambitious building program begun in 1901 resulted in a beautiful multi-story brick edifice of Romanesque architecture featuring graceful arched windows, upper level cupolas, and a witch’s-hat spire.
Financed by the school district and devoted to primary and secondary-level education, it was located almost centrally to the town’s borders, situated on a gentle rise and surrounded by enough room for students to roam freely during recess or play baseball after school hours. As robust as the brick building was, it could not survive the fire which had apparently smoldered for several hours after a custodian used a torch to thaw some frozen pipes; the fire broke out later that night. Public School, as it was called, was totally destroyed by the fire of March 1911.

Its replacement, well known to students from 1912 through the end of the 20th century and constructed of solid Iowa brickwork. 19 PUBLIC SCHOOL 12 was engraved high up on the stonework of what is usually referred to as “Central” School.

The increasing town and rural population eventually required the opening of a brand new high school in 1936, located downhill and south of the public school, (which was never officially called Central School). Clear Lake High School, modern and roomy when opened in 1936, became too small and eventually served as a junior high school after a new high school was constructed in 1960.

Lincoln Elementary School, a stout and somewhat imposing building of brick construction, and located on the south side of town, was dedicated in 1926, and served students from the surrounding neighborhoods. Lincoln students matriculated to the larger K-12 school for seventh and eighth grades and beyond.

As the city continued to expand, Sunset View Elementary School was opened in 1955 to support the students in the northwest areas.
Sunset Elementary School was constructed of bricks and laid out as a one-story building spreading generously horizontally. Built with an eye to open vistas, the large glass windows offered the distraction of counting train cars passing by the school along the nearby rail line. Sunset served students living north of about Fourth Avenue and out along the north shore.

As school age population began declining in the 1980s, the new Clear Creek Elementary School was opened in 1998 designed to consolidate elementary education and replace Central, Lincoln and Sunset Schools. Central School closed in 1999, Lincoln closed in 2008 and Sunset in 2005. All were sold shortly after.

High school students moved to an ultramodern, brand spanking new high school in 1960. The wow factor was there in a beautifully laid out and well-equipped, roomy new campus. A junior high/middle school was added during a 2004 remodel of the school. The campus continues to expand with the addition of Fitness Center in 2020 and Performing Arts Building in 2026. It remains unburned.

Fire haunted all educational buildings constructed on the Central School plot. First the 1901 school in 1912, then the “old” 1936 CLHS burned down one school day in 1975. Happily, there were no injuries and evacuation of the building went off smoothly. CLHS was gutted. Then, after the 1912 Central Elementary school was sold, it burned down during its demolition in 2000. The plot upon which three different large schools were built, then destroyed over a 99 year span, is now called Central Gardens. There have been no more fires.