As you drive west on Highway 44 out of Middleton, you have probably noticed a small green building at the corner of Canyon Lane, about two miles west of town. You may have thought, “That looks like an old school building,” and you would be right.

In the days when students walked or rode horses to school, rather than boarding a school bus or owning their own set of wheels, school districts were much smaller and more numerous. In 1893, when Canyon County was carved out of Ada County, thirty-one school districts existed within its borders. One of those small districts was Canyon District #22, and the small building that sits at the corner of Canyon Lane and Highway 44 was its schoolhouse.

Canyon District was organized on July 19, 1894, in response to a petition from local residents. The district encompassed six-sections (3,840 acres) north of the Boise River, with an enrollment of 20 children in 1895. The school site, slightly more than half an acre, was sold to the district by Samuel and Ora Miller for $85.31. The original building was replaced by this one-room, concrete block building in 1908, making it one of the oldest school buildings in Canyon County. It served as a school until Canyon School District, enrollment 30 students, was consolidated with Middleton School District in March,1940.

The building continued serving the area as the Canyon Community Center, hosting Sunday School, Farm Bureau meetings, a pinochle club, 4-H clubs, a garden club, square dances, bridal showers, parties, and other community activities.

In 1973, Middleton School District sold the building, and it has remained in private hands since that time.

If you have memories of Canyon School, either as a school or a community center, the Historical Society would love to hear them. You can contact the Society at historicalsocietyofmiddleton@gmail.com, or on the Facebook or Instagram pages.