Bagdad Living Com
Bagdad
Elementary School
BAGDAD VILLAGE HISTORIC DISTRICT
NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES - SANTA ROSA COUNTY, FL
Bagdad
Elementary School
The first records of a school in Bagdad are from 1866. The schoolhouse was described as a red building under the direction of Rev. J. N. Lewis. He was hired to teach at the school by the lumber mill during the Simpson & Company era. Both the school and the teacher were supported by the mill, as was a common practice in mill towns at that time.
(Above) This wooden schoolhouse was built on Forsyth Street after fire destroyed the old Bagdad Schoolhouse on Simpson Street in 1914.
(Above) Bagdad Elementary School was built in 1926 featuring Mission style architectural details.
The school was located next to the former Presbyterian Church on Church Street between Allen and Main Streets. Besides teaching for the school, Rev. Lewis was also the pastor of the Bagdad Presbyterian Church.
In the latter part of the 1800s, the mill built a two-story school on Simpson Street. It burned in 1914, after which a wooden schoolhouse, painted white, was built on Forsyth Street.
This building remained the school until 1926, when a new brick building was built across the street. It would serve as the Bagdad Grammar School while the former building would become a new sanctuary one year later for the congregation of the First Baptist Church of Bagdad.
Through the years, Bagdad Elementary School has undergone much construction. Even though the school has been added to and renovated, it has kept its Mission style architectural influence. These details are found on parapets flanking each side of the school. The design continues with the triad of arches on the parapets face and the arched detail over the original series of windows.
In 1989, the Bagdad War Memorial was erected on the front lawn of the Bagdad Elementary School. It was done under the direction of Rod and June Dugger as a tribute to those who died in wars serving their country. The school is honored to have the memorial site and participates each year in paying tribute to the fallen.
Bagdad Elementary School is also home to one of the several weather towers in Santa Rosa County. Data from instruments atop the tower provide up-to-the-minute weather conditions such as atmospheric pressure, temperature, humidity, and wind speed. The information is received by the local weather station providing them with current conditions.
Visit the weather link for the Village of Bagdad at: https://www.accuweather.com/en/us/bagdad-fl/32583/minute-weather-forecast/2230787
Click on Bulldog for Bagdad Elementary School website
