106-year-old schoolhouse will have new life in park

BOTHELL — One hundred years ago, the hum of pioneer children’s voices ricocheted off the four walls of the North Creek Schoolhouse.

For decades, the white clapboard building sat silent. Moss grew on the roof. Dust frosted the wooden floors.

Now the historic school is preparing for a rebirth as part of the new Centennial Park. The 54-acre park opens today in the Snohomish County portion of Bothell.

The school still needs to be refurbished before it can open, but park visitors can examine the exterior of the 106-year-old building. One day in the near future, city planners hope to use the school as an interpretive center and meeting space.

In the meantime, visitors can walk along a boardwalk over wetlands at Centennial Park, picnic under a shelter or lounge on a bench. Rest­rooms, lights and parking are also available.

“We need to have parks — particularly with the recession coming through, we need to have places people can go to have picnics and walk, where they can take their families and not have to spend a lot of money,” said Bothell resident Peg Dowd, a former member of the city’s park board.

A Bothell family donated the one-room school, one of the few in the county, and the city moved it to the park site in 2008.

The opening celebration is planned for 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. today at the park, 1129 208th St. SE. The schedule calls for activity tables, plantings, historic displays and book sales to benefit the North Creek Schoolhouse refurbishment.

The park dedication is one of several events timed to honor Bothell’s 100th birthday.

The line dividing King and Snohomish counties slices through Bothell, and Centennial Park will be the city’s third and largest park in Snoho­mish County. The city bought the land the park now sits on with a $2.9 million grant from the Snohomish County Conservation Futures program in 1997. Since then, the city has spent $1.3 million outfitting the park with lights, bathrooms and paths.

“We don’t have many parks in the Snohomish County portion of our city,” Bothell spokeswoman Joyce Goedeke said. “It’s important definitely to service the different areas for our citizens on that side. Plus it’s such a different type of park. It’s really a cool place to go for anyone in the Bothell area.”

Kaitlin Manry: 425-339-3292, kmanry@heraldnet.com.

Celebrate today

A celebration honoring the opening of Centennial Park is scheduled for 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. today at the park, 1129 208th St. SE.