History

The Wilmot Family in Evergreen 

Dwight Porter Wilmot established the Wilmot family in Evergreen about 1875-1880 and distinguished himself and the Wilmot name through his pioneering efforts and community leadership. Among the influences Mr. Wilmot had on this area was that of providing it with the name "Evergreen."
D.P. and his wife, Libbie, had a son and daughter. The son never married and so ended the Wilmot name in Evergreen. The daughter married into another prominent Evergreen family, the Herzmans. D.P. Wilmot was the president of the Evergreen School Board in the 1920s and was posthumously honored as the namesake for our school when it was dedicated in 1962.

Little Old School House

Little Old School House

"The little old schoolhouse was built in 1877 by Selim Vezina and Antoine Roy on the Vezina Ranch at Buffalo Park. Mrs. Caroline Riel Vezina, daughter-in-law of Selim, recognized its historical value; and when the family ranch was sold in 1948, she had it moved log by log and placed next to her home, but with the stipulation that she retain ownership of the schoolhouse until such time as she could find someone to take it and guarantee its preservation.

The Evergreen Woman's Club requested this responsibility. Mrs. Vezina, herself a member of the Club for many years, enthusiastically agreed.

To assure permanency, by agreement with the Jefferson County R-1 School District, the building was placed on school property. The Little Old School House continued to be maintained by the Evergreen Woman's Club until the early 2000's when responsibility was legally transferred to Jefferson County Public Schools. Nowadays, second grade students from around the Evergreen area visit the old schoolhouse as a part of their Pioneer Studies.


Wilmot Then and Now

In 1962, Wilmot Elementary was the only elementary school in the area serving kindergarten through sixth grade with Riley Scott as Principal. Over the years, as the Evergreen population grew, other elementary schools opened and Wilmot began serving Preschool through 5th grade. In 1999, most of the original Wilmot school building was demolished, with construction of the new school building completed in August 2000. Wilmot underwent another facelift during the 2019-2020 school year. Crews took down the original gym and cafeteria and built a state-of-the-art facility open to the community.


"Meeting of Like Minds" Sculpture

Meeting of the Minds Sculpture
The "Meeting of Like Minds" sculpture is a beautiful piece of artwork greets students and visitors to Wilmot Elementary School. It was donated in September 2000 by community members, Bob and Cynthia Benson, together with Art for the Mountain Community. This six-foot statue was composed of 1/2 inch laser-cut iron. We are deeply thankful to the Benson's for their generosity and to Art for the Mountain Community who facilitated bringing this sculpture to Wilmot.



50th Anniversary Logo

On April 13th, 2013, the Wilmot Elementary community celebrated 50 years.
Read about the celebration in the Canyon Courier HERE



 

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