The Snowflake Academy renovation has been nominated for a 2015 Governor’s Heritage Preservation Honor Award “in recognition of the long-term commitment, perseverance and work to preserve, restore and repurpose this 1913 building,” according to the nomination.
The Town of Snowflake purchased the building from the Snowflake Unified School District in 2000 to keep the high school from tearing it down and building new classrooms.
“The town decided that repurposing the building as the community’s library would best allow for the use of this historic and beautiful building,” the nomination continues. The town and Navajo County have invested Community Development Block Grant funds in the renovation. Funding has also come from the Arizona State Library, the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) and the Snowflake Academy Foundation, a grassroots organization that has raised more than $100,000 for the renovation.
“The Academy was built twice by the community for the secondary education of their children. After it burned down in 1911 they immediately began building again…The community members today are the descendants of those individuals who sacrificed to make this building a reality. As well, this building will provide a much needed improved library space near two schools and right in the historic district of Snowflake,” wrote Snowflake-Taylor Public Library Director Cathie McDowell, who serves as the project coordinator.
“The Snowflake Stake Academy building was school, including various subjects and auditorium, to many in Navajo County during the early 1900s. Young people from Joseph City to Clay Springs to Lakeside sought an education in this historic building. Even when additional buildings were added to the high school, the academy was still used as a library and home for other classrooms. The academy, as a multi-used, historic building, should be preserved,” said Foundation Vice President Karen LaDuke.
Mormon pioneer families began to settle the Silver Creek Valley in 1878, and although the environment was harsh, they did not forget the value of education, establishing lower grades within months of their arrival in Snowflake.
In 1888 they established the Snowflake Stake Academy that educated children beyond the eighth grade. They built the brick Academy building in 1901 just south of the existing village of Snowflake on a small knoll, completing it between 1908 and 1910.
On Thanksgiving Day it burned to the ground, but that did not halt classes. Various church buildings and rooms in private homes held school that following Monday and on Dec. 10, the Snowflake Stake officers met and decided to rebuild.
The new Academy building was constructed with locally quarried stone. It was completed on Nov. 13, 1913, and dedicated by Mormon Church President Joseph F. Smith.
In 1924 the Snowflake Union High School District was created and the Stake Academy closed as a church educational institution. The Academy building was leased to the State of Arizona for 99 years at $1 a year.
It was part of the Snowflake campus until the late 1990s, and in 2001 it was turned over to the Town of Snowflake.
Town officials discussed uses for the building ranging from a meeting hall to museum and chamber of commerce offices, but none of these would use the entire building. In discussion with the town manager, McDowell suggested that the building become the town library. “It seemed like a natural fit to me and a solution that would allow the community to enjoy full use of the building,” said McDowell.
Upon agreement of the town manager, the work began and McDowell applied for a grant from SHPO for a new roof, and renovation of the soffits and eves.
The Snowflake Academy Foundation was formed as a 401(c)3, and has held fundraisers and community events that highlight and emphasize the value and historic significance of the building.
One important project to raise funds for the renovation was the publication of a book on the Academy Building by David Flake, former president of the foundation who now serves as its historian. The book is available on the foundation’s website at www.snowflakeacademy.com. You can also take a virtual tour of the state of the art library on the website, as well as donate to this historic project.
The installation of a code-required fire sprinkler system and an American Disability Act compliant ramp, as well as renovating the entry stairs that had been damaged over the years, have been completed. An elevator has been installed.
The building is not ready to be the full time library, but the second floor can be used for large group programs.
McDowell said that approximately $2 million will be needed to complete the project for use as the library. They need to complete additional window renovation, an emergency stairway exit, rehabilitation of the walls, doorways, ceiling and floors on the second and third floors, install an HVAC system for the second and third floors, make repairs to the portico, re-point exterior walls and prepare parking.
The downturn of the economy has affected fundraising, but there have been six Eagle Scout projects and four community projects that helped with the renovation.
Contributions are gratefully accepted for the renovation of the historic Snowflake Academy Building as a modern Snowflake-Taylor public library. Go to the website or mail them to The Snowflake Academy Foundation, 418 South Fourth West, Snowflake, Ariz. 85937.
