First school, city history commemorated

OLYMPIA — Historians say Olympia's first high school helped bolster the city's reputation and secure its capital city status.

William Winlock Miller School, built in 1907 on the future West Capitol Campus, was commemorated Sunday for its place in the history of the county and state.

The high school was one of the first in the state, built when legislators were deciding on a permanent home for the seat of state government.

"What better way to show lawmakers Olympia was an up and coming city," said state Supreme Court Chief Justice Gerry Alexander, a 1954 Olympia High School graduate.

Alexander was one of several speakers who told about 75 Olympia High School alumni and faculty about the history of William Winlock Miller School at Sunday's ceremony, coordinated by the OHS Alumni Association.

The association's president, Charlie Kirry, spearheaded a project about two years ago to raise awareness of the first school. He and other alumni association members secured permission to install a plaque and park bench noting the school's location near the Sunken Garden.

The bronze plaque will be set in Tenino sandstone believed to be from the original building, and it will be completed this summer.

Miller family

The school's namesake was a pioneer who helped form the Washington Territory. He was a well-known landowner and businessmen who served two terms as Olympia's mayor. After his death, his widow, Mary McFadden Miller, donated the land for the school with the condition that it be named after her late husband.

Alumni members said the school's history predates the first building by about 25 years because students attended high school at various downtown locations.

Interesting events

Bill Curtis, a 1962 graduate and alumni association member, talked about some defining events in the school's early years.

In 1903, the community decided to suspend football because of the sport's "evil tendencies," he said.

In 1910, students raised money to hold the first school dance. And in 1912, students held bonfires on campus, protesting "the harsh discipline of the faculty," he said.

In 1918, the school mysteriously burned down, but building was already under way for a new school across the street at 12th Avenue and Capitol Way to make room for the Capitol's expansions. Olympia High School opened in its third and current location on North Street in the early 1960s.

Kirry invites people to visit the site of the plaque and consider the history it represents.

"Sit here and reflect," he said. "This is your place."

Diane Huber is a reporter for The Olympian. She can be reached at 360-357-0204 or dhuber@theolympian.com.