By Coben Scott
In September of 1888, Falcon, Colorado was officially established along the Rock Island Railroad route that ran along the eastern stretch of Highway 24 to Limon (named after the railroad construction supervisor John Limon).
The company founded almost every town along the eastern stretch of the route. The railroad company put in a station, roughly where the library is today, to initially be used as a rest stop for tired railroad workers. This stop is said to be responsible for Falcon’s community growth. Soon enough a neighborhood formed around the station, and the early homesteaders didn’t have to travel all the way to Colorado Springs to get supplies or do other business. This also opened the opportunity for schools to develop and the young pioneers to attend a place of education.
Several more stops were incorporated into the Rock Island route, including a stop named Bierstadt. Bierstadt was a rural community of several ranches located in the existing fields today between Marksheffel and Highway 24. Near the train stop a schoolhouse was built with the same name, funded by taxes paid by the railroad. This was one of eight schools in the region, all one room buildings placed in specific locations to make sure the students didn’t have too far to walk.
The Bierstadt school district formed on Sept. 28, 1888, eight days after the announcement of the newly structured Falcon Land and Town Company. Bierstadt and Falcon would remain two separate bodies for some time, but the schoolhouses would act as lively community centers that hosted gatherings and events outside of teaching. Bierstadt hosted Sunday school since they were the ones who had an organ in their classroom. Henry Neilson was one of the school’s early teachers, quitting after the end of the 1904 school year because $55 a month in salary was not supporting his family of nine.
Falcon also had a one-room school, but lots of changes were happening just after the turn of the century. 1920 was a big year for Falcon’s world of education
Falcon annexed Bierstadt that same year. It is likely that the Bierstadt school would be moved to Falcon and still operate as a classroom for some time outside of the Falcon School, eventually adding interior walls, plumbing, electricity and stucco. Falcon School was demolished in 1980, turning into Falcon Junior High, then a branch of Pikes Peak Community College, and most recently, Patriot High School.
Despite the many demolitions, remodels and affiliations, the old single room schoolhouse was spared.
In 2025, principal Ryan Bailey would change Patriot High School to Patriot Applied Learning Campus. This change allows middle school age students, along with high school age students from across the district the opportunity to learn practical and applicable life skills through their education process. The school offers courses that vary from career development, speech and personal finance to developmental programs in culinary arts, hairstyling and construction. The students in construction have recently finished work on an entire house, which was featured in the Parade of Homes and recently sold. The next major project for this young construction crew may just be bringing the original schoolhouse back to life.
With one of very few original structures of old Falcon still standing, this building in the hands of the school presents an opportunity for principal Bailey and other D-49 staff. For the students, this is a cost effective and valuable chance to work on a remodel project, starting with demolition. For the community, this building will play a similar role as it once did over 100 years ago. Bailey said, “It would be amazing to be able to host different groups and events in this building. It’s not huge, but once we get the walls knocked out, a lot of space opens up…Already we have the Falcon Senior Service that meets at the school once a month. I’m sure that just for them having this remodeled would be great.”
The vision is similar to the Black Forest Schoolhouse. Not only would it be able to bring people together on special occasions, but also share the story of our communities through time. The remodeled schoolhouse would feature artifacts of old Falcon donated by the community. Already, a local metal detectorist has offered toys, coins and other items from his collection, though he has not yet found the original Sunday school organ.
Over the summer, the building was abated for asbestos and lead, with a clean result.
Currently, Patriot faces some bumps in the project. Bailey expressed how the most difficult part of this process needs a professional architectural and structural assessment before letting the students begin work.
District community liaison, Cari Muresan, has been actively providing information on the district’s social media site regarding the project. Prior to community outreach, there was little information about the schoolhouse in the hands of Patriot. Muresan mentioned that anything from the community would be valuable: “stories, pictures, newspaper clippings; we really want to hear from whoever we can about this place.”
Finances play a factor as well, and support is always welcome.
The biggest request is simply community support, whether it is in the form of memories, money or hiring an architect. It is all appreciated and goes towards a greater cause in preserving the story of Falcon and the close community it has always been.
Principal Ryan Bailey is grateful for any information and can be contacted at ryan.bailey@d49.org
