PRESS RELEASE:
Banks Historical Society Launches Campaign to Save Historic High School Building
The 105-year-old two-story brick building – the first Union High School in Washington County – is currently slated for demolition.
Banks, Oregon – June 3, 2025 – The Banks Historical Society today 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.
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 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
The Banks Historical Society invites community members, local leaders and potential partners to come together and explore creative solutions to preserve this vital piece of the town’s history. With limited time to act, we encourage advocates and investors to join us in ensuring the historic high school continues to serve our community—honoring our past while meeting the needs of our growing population.
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.
About the Banks Historical Society
The mission of the Banks Historical Society is to preserve, protect, and promote the history and heritage of Banks, Oregon – and all municipalities and rural areas within the Banks School District – through educational programs, exhibitions, community engagement and recognition of local, state and national historic landmarks and resources in the service area. The all-volunteer Banks Historical Society is organized exclusively for charitable, educational, and historical purposes under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.
COVERAGE:
KGW-TV: Banks striving to save historic high school
KOIN-TV: Banks residents fight to preserve 105-year-old building that could be demolished
KXL: Campaign Begun To Save Old Banks School Building
Restore Oregon: Banks Historical Society Launches Campaign to Save Historic High School Building
Forest Grove News Times: A final push to preserve the past: Banks Historical Society launches campaign to save century-old high school
Banks Post: Banks Historical Society launches effort to save district building
Learn how the Wilkes House and its 150 years of Oregon Trail pioneer architecture and cultural history were wiped out in a matter of minutes — despite there being no need or urgency to do so.
In June 2024, the Banks Historical Society launched a “Save the Wilkes House” campaign with a GoFundMe to raise funds for the preservation of the 150-year-old Wilkes house — and the acre of heritage trees surrounding it — for the creation of a one-acre city park, cultural center and museum.
The site is in full view of, and mere steps away from, the trailheads for the Banks-Vernonia State Trail and the new Salmonberry Trail now under construction – an 82-mile rail-to-trail project connecting Banks to the Oregon Coast. The planned Council Creek Regional Trail will also run near the property.
As a park, museum and cultural center, the Wilkes House and land would have been a boon to tourism, enhancing local business at the north end of Banks and Oregon’s beautiful wine country and cycling routes. It would have enhanced the Westside development next door to the site and would have created a cultural hub and educational resource for the community for generations to come.
As part of the development agreement with the City for the creation of the 30-acre Sunset View at West Banks residential and commercial development, the City will obtain that acre of the historic property for “municipal use,” which the City had designated for the water treatment plant. The construction of a water treatment plant would have necessitated the destruction of this landmark home and heritage trees.
The Banks Historical Society and Friends of the Wilkes House advocated for the proposed water treatment plant to be located elsewhere so this beautiful, historic property could be preserved. Many concerned citizens expressed enthusiasm over this historic preservation and contributed to our GoFundMe.
The Banks Historical Society sought to partner with the City of Banks to preserve the Wilkes House on its original acre of land so that it would be eligible for historical landmark designation, as it met three separate criteria for eligibility for the National Register, according to the state’s historic preservation office (SHPO). This designation would have aided the Historical Society in obtaining grants for the restoration and preservation of the 150-year-old home and the acre of heritage trees that surround it.
Despite the proposed water treatment plant not being scheduled to be built for 5-7 years — plenty of time to locate another site — the property’s absentee corporate owners, Lone Oak Land and Investment Company and Wolverine Financial, chose to demolish the house on July 5, 2024, before any discussion could take place about alternative locations for the water plant, before historic landmark designations could be applied for and just days before the City Council’s planned July 9 work session to discuss the possibility of preserving the Wilkes House. The City of Banks did nothing to stop the demolition.
This effort is not over. The Banks Historical Society is continuing its work to try to save the historic land and old trees for the creation of a city park.
For more information on the project and ongoing updates, visit the Banks Historical Society Facebook page. If you would like to get involved, please contact the Banks Historical Society at bankshistoricalsociety@gmail.com or (503) 389-8967.
Media Coverage:
SEE THE HEARTBREAKING VIDEO of the 150-year-old Wilkes House being demolished
READERS RESPOND: Survey shows disappointment in destruction of historic Wilkes House in Banks, Forest Grove News Times, 15 July 2024
‘We got really ripped off'” Calls for accountability emerge following demise of Banks’ historic Wilkes House, Hillsboro News-Times, 9 July 2024
1870s Oregon farmhouse torn down for proposed water treatment facility, The Oregonian, 5 July 2024
Demolition abruptly ends campaign to save historic farmhouse in Banks, KGW TV, 5 July 2024
150-year-old historic Wilkes House demolished amid preservation efforts in Banks, Beaverton Valley Times, 5 July 2024
Wilkes House demolished Friday morning, The Banks Post, 5 July 2024
Stunning 19th Century home that’s rare Oregon Trail survivor abruptly torn down to make way for water treatment facility, MSN & The Daily Mail (UK), 5 July 2024
Historic Wilkes House In Banks Falls To Developers’ Dozer, Hillsboro Herald, 6 July 2024
Media prior to demolition:
Residents of tiny Oregon town try to stop 1870s farmhouse from being replaced by water treatment plant, The Oregonian, 3 July 2024
Banks Historical Society working to save house dating back 150 years, KGW TV, 3 July 2024
Banks Historical Society launches fundraiser to save Wilkes House, The Banks Post, 3 July 2024
Saving the 150-year-old Wilkes House – Read the Press Release
PRESS RELEASE:
In June 2024, the Banks Historical Society launched a “Save the Wilkes House” campaign with a GoFundMe to raise funds for the preservation of the 150-year-old Wilkes house — and the acre of heritage trees surrounding it — for the creation of a one-acre city park, cultural center and museum.
Banks Historical Society Launches Save the Wilkes House Campaign
For more information on the project and ongoing updates, visit the Banks Historical Society Facebook page. If you would like to get involved, please contact the Banks Historical Society at bankshistoricalsociety@gmail.com or (503) 389-8967.