Photo Above: Historic Banks Union High School 2025; Courtesy of Banks Historical Society.
Banks Historical Society Launches Campaign to Save Historic High School Building
The Banks Historical Society announced the launch of the Save the Historic Banks Union High School campaign. The aim is to preserve the 105-year-old building – the only remaining original historic brick structure in the city – which is currently slated to be demolished to change the footprint of the new school campus. The organization is advocating for private investors or a public-private partnership to secure the funds for the building’s renovation for potential use as administration, municipal and community spaces to serve the city’s growing population.
“This building holds historic significance not only for Banks but for the wider community as well,” said Laurelen Jabbour, President of the Banks Historical Society. “Its construction was completed in 1920, the same year Banks incorporated as a city. It was the first Union High School in Washington County and brought together seven small school districts to provide a high school education for students from nearby towns, farms and logging camps.”
With the construction of a new high school in the early 1960s behind the old school, the historic building was used as a junior high and, later, as administrative offices for the school district. It has been vacant since October 2024.
In May 2024, Banks voters approved a $49.3 million bond measure to replace the aging 1960s-era high school with a new, two-story classroom building. The bond measure did not specify the demolition of the historic building, nor did it state that funds from the bond would be used to build a new school administration office, now a proposed addition to the new construction.
In November 2024, a group of concerned citizens began efforts to raise community awareness about the historic school and call for the Banks School District to incorporate the renovation of the building as a part of the new high school. More than 250 people signed a petition to save the 1920 school, however the cost to upgrade the structure to meet the needs and standards for educational purposes was deemed by the school board to be cost-prohibitive. A cost-neutral option that included renovation and incorporation of the historic school into the new campus was ultimately rejected without explanation.
Photo Above: Banks Union High School 1925; Courtesy of Banks Historical Society.
Now the citizen group has joined with the Banks Historical Society to seek options for adaptive re-use of the building—envisioning a revitalized space that could benefit both the school district and the broader community. Inspired by projects like the repurposed John Gumm Building in St. Helens and other historic school renovations, the group is seeking a mix of public and private investment to secure the building’s future.
Area residents submitted ideas for the building that ranged from offices and meeting rooms to a community center with spaces for events, art and maker studios, daycare and afterschool programs, a commercial kitchen, senior center, farmer’s market, local museum and tourism center, among others.
“Our historic high school is more than a building – it’s a symbol of our town’s identity and resilience,” said Nina Shurts, who leads the Banks Historical Society’s Historic High School Committee. “With two new housing developments on the way, we will need more community and commercial spaces that serve our growing population of all ages. Adaptive reuse offers a practical, sustainable way to meet these needs while honoring our heritage and preserving the beauty and meaning of a space that belongs to all of us. This is our chance to create something unifying, lasting and deeply rooted in who we are as a community.”
Banks has already lost many of its historic buildings. Most recently, the Banks Historical Society launched a multi-year effort to save the 150-year-old Wilkes House, which belonged to Banks’ first permanent Euro-American settlers. The house, which was slated to become the property of the City, was demolished by its owners on July 5, 2024 just days before a scheduled City Council meeting to discuss the building’s future.
This time, with a publicly owned building, the Banks Historical Society is hoping for a better outcome. The group is actively exploring funding options and is in the process of applying for the building’s designation on the National Register of Historic Places, which would open the door to preservation grants.
Get Involved
To learn more, get involved or make a tax-deductible contribution toward preservation efforts, please visit bankshistory.org. For more information on the project and ongoing updates, visit the Banks Historical Society Facebook page.