Built in 1900-01 it was originally known as the Susanville Grammar School. During the boom era of the early 1920s when three more elementary schools were built in Susanville, brought about the need of school names, all named after presidents—Washington, McKinley, Lincoln and Roosevelt—and the grammar school became Washington. When the Washington School was condemned and torn down in 1948, it did find a bit of reincarnation nearby. The bricks were recycled and used to construct the residence at 709 Mill Street.