Student Stuff - Riley History

By Nicole Ann Hessheimer
Riley Class of 1999

The first school building was built in 1892. It was a white frame building that had two rooms and held only about 100 students. At the time, Riley was called Ward 3, and this area of Lincoln was its own town called University Place. The school was called Ward 3 until 1913 when a second and larger building, called Riley, was built on the same property. The smaller structure was then used as an annex. In 1927, Riley became part of Lincoln Public Schools, or LPS.

Below is a picture of Riley students gathered around the Hat Booth at Riley Fun Night, 1952.

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Below is a picture from 1954 of the Riley's Mothers Patrol, a 28 member PTA organization, helping Riley students across 48th street. Photo from The Lincoln Evening Journal and Nebraska State Journal.

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In 1964 the new Riley Elementary School was built. Total construction costs were $524,532.00 At that time, the school offered grades Kindergarten through 6th. The building could hold 600 students and in September of 1965, the enrollment was 533.

On Tuesday, May 16, 1986, the 75th anniversary of Riley was held at the new Riley building. They served refreshments and some of the students gave a violin concert.

The Riley Fire

On Tuesday, March 10, 1964, smoke was reported being seen coming from the annex. The custodian checked the building and found fire had broken out in the temporary building. Fortunately, the children that used the annex for classes had been dismissed for lunch only a few minutes before. All the materials, band instruments and clothing had been damaged or destroyed but the students were not injured. After the fire, the children who used the annex were bussed to Hawthorne Elementary until the school year was completed.

About James Whitcomb Riley

Riley Elementary School was named after James Whitcomb Riley, an American poet who lived from 1849 to 1916.

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Riley was born in Greenfield, Indiana in 1849. He thought that school was too harsh, but he liked the books they offered. His first job was at his father's office, learning the law, but he decided to take classes in art and poetry. He wrote poems about children, people of the pioneer times and small town life. He was very well known during his life. He died in 1916, and his funeral had an attendance of about 35,000 people.

A large hospital, one of the ten largest in the country, was founded after Riley became famous. It is a children's hospital, and it is the only hospital to provide heart, kidney, liver, and bone marrow transplants for children. The James Whitcomb Riley Hospital for Children is also the only children's hospital in Indiana to provide surgical training.

A camp was also named after Riley, Camp Riley for Children with Physical Disabilities. Camp Riley was founded in 1955. Some activities the camp provides are: canoeing, tree climbing, a nature study, swimming, and fishing.

Old Riley School Demolished

In January 2001, the old Riley school was demolished to make way for new homes. Riley students enjoyed watching the fascinating process of the old school being torn down.

View a movie of the Mayor's Press Conference | Can't see the movie? - Download QuickTime

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