Cottonwood Community Center
The Cottonwood Community Center is a school building built around 1889 in Payne County near Stillwater, Oklahoma, from hand-cut cottonwood logs. The simple rectangular structure with large windows reflects the straightforward schoolhouse design common in rural areas during the late 1800s.
Built in 1889 as a schoolhouse, it is one of the few remaining one-room school buildings from that era in the Stillwater area. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980 to recognize its significance and protect its original structure.
The name comes from the hand-cut cottonwood wood used in its construction, reflecting how early settlers built with local resources. Over the years it became a gathering place where families and neighbors came together for school, meetings, and community events.
The building sits in a quiet area with open green space and parking available nearby for easy access. The entrance is straightforward and the interior spaces are laid out simply, making it easy for visitors to move around.
It is the only one-room school building remaining in the Stillwater area that has been in continuous use since it was built. This unbroken history of service spanning over a century makes it a rare example of how a single building has held community life together.
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