Lincoln School Then and Now

613 W Cedar St

Those of you who attended Lincoln are probably wondering where this is going since everyone in Dodge City knows what happened to that building. Understand that I’m writing this as someone who has been known to put milk in the cupboard and cereal in the fridge. I didn’t know about the original structure, even though I taught French to fourth-grade students at Lincoln when I was in high school.

Much has already been written about the early owners of the Lincoln property so I won’t rehash that history, other than to mention Cedar Street didn’t run all the way to Pala Dura, which was renamed 7th Avenue, until after 1905. The blocks in that area had to be replatted a few times because the original Dodge City plat is crooked. Making through streets was quite a challenge and the problem has never been completely solved.

The second Third Ward School on Boot Hill had been built in 1890 and was overcrowded as soon as it opened. By 1925, it was outdated and considered unsafe.

Its replacement, designed by Arthur R Mann of Hutchinson, was approved by voters in April of that year. Awarded contracts for the 12-classroom school totaled $75,990 with a construction deadline of September 29, 1925.

Lincoln School opened a bit late in November of 1925 with approximately 325 students. Presumably, the odd orientation facing east was based on an assumption that 6th Avenue would someday be a through street.

The 1926 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map shows “Lincoln Public School” with its auditorium along 7th Avenue. Because it was the latest and greatest, high school basketball tournaments and plays were held at Lincoln.

By January of 1927, Lincoln was already overcrowded. Additional space wasn’t added until 1951 when an expansion along Cedar Street basically doubled the size of the school.

As the addition was being completed in November of 1951, Principal Gussie Mootz reported that enrollment had reached an all-time record of 540 students.

Lincoln was closed in 1995 after being replaced by Linn Elementary School northwest of 14th and Division. The building was then used for religious purposes until the upkeep became problematic. Once the old school was essentially abandoned, the usual types of illicit activities filled the halls.

Demolition of the former Lincoln School began in the Fall of 2019 with funding made possible by the City of Dodge City. At the time, plans were being created to finally (sort of) extend 6th Avenue all the way to Wyatt Earp. As of this writing, we’re still turning at the dead end on Cedar Street.

As of right now, the Ford County GIS Map still shows the old school and it’s super obvious where the original section ended and the 1951 addition began.

It’s also possible to take a trip back in time via Google Street View. Click here to see the section I somehow failed to notice my entire life.

This is how the site looks today:

Ideally, the Lincoln School building would have been repurposed into apartments but that needed to happen immediately after the closure. Flat roofs and old mechanical systems sit for five minutes without maintenance and promptly self-destruct. After more than 20 years, there was just no saving it.

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