Gilbert’s first school was built in 1900 on the southwest corner of Baseline and Cooper Roads. The school was called Highland School, because it sat on the highest land south of the Salt River. In 1909 the school district moved the school to the northeast corner of Guadalupe and Cooper Roads.

Gilbert’s ‘new’ school was built at the southwest corner of Elliot and Gilbert Roads in 1913; the ‘Alamo’, as the building was nicknamed, housed Gilbert Elementary School for more than 60 years before it was abandoned for classroom use in 1977.

When the Elementary School was built at the southwest corner of Elliot and Gilbert Roads in 1913, the Gilbert School District was formed. Students would often hitch a ride to school on a farm wagon heading to the new creamery that was built in 1911!  Beats the big yellow school bus doesn’t it?

In 1977 the “Alamo”, as the building was nicknamed, was abandoned for classroom use; in 1982 it reopened as the home of Gilbert’s history museum.

Preserving a Gilbert landmark

When the school closed, the old building seemed to be the ideal location for the Gilbert Historical Museum. In 1979 the Gilbert Historical Society was incorporated as a non-profit corporation, and in June 1980 the school building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The old elementary school building had been a Gilbert landmark for generations, and preserving an element of life dear to the community as well as providing a home for the town’s rich history seemed a perfect match. On May 15, 1982 the building reopened its doors to the public as the Gilbert Historical Museum; the Society owns the building thanks to the generosity of Otto and Edna Neely.