When McKinley School exploded with a student population of over 600 students in 1973, Rock Creek School became a reality to ease the overload on McKinley. Darrell Wilson was named the Rock Creek principal and the staff was selected.
The following year three new elementary buildings were scheduled to be constructed using the new “Open Classroom” design in Beaverton. Rock Creek along with Hiteon and Kinnaman were all built with the “Open Classroom ” concept.
1974 Covered Play Area Added
1975 Two Schools Under One Roof
When school opened in the fall of 1975, construction delays prohibited the opening of Rock Creek. Staff and students were then temporarily housed at McKinley. Each school functioned separately under one roof, requiring use of the gym and portables for the twelve classrooms that Rock Creek needed. The boys locker room served as faculty room, a supply room was the office, and Mr. Lebold rolled his piano from room to room for music.
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An early view of Stucki Farm with Wolf Creek Highway. In 1949 the completed road was renamed the Sunset Highway.
Visit to the Farm in 1977 by Judy Berger
Esther Stucki recalled a group of McKinley School’s first graders coming to see the farm in 1977. Fifty children, two teachers and two mothers. “They didn’t miss anything. Many put their thumbs into the milking machine tubes to feel the suction. Then we took them to the basement of the house where we served punch, cookies and popcorn. The bus driver took them back to the school and soon returned with another fifty children, two teachers and two mothers. We went through the whole operation again. By 11:30 am all left. There isn’t really a dull moment on the farm and now in 1977 the barn still houses sixteen head of cattle, two owls and six cats.”
The red Stucki barn on a high knoll overlooking the Rock Creek division of Somerset West was a landmark for motorists on the Sunset Highway for over 40 years, but was dismantled again in 1986 after the Stuckis sold the farm for development. The dismantled pieces were given to the Washington County Historical Society who had the hope of putting the barn back up once a suitable site had been found.
