108 Years of the District #1 Schoolhouse
1917
A plot of land belonging to Hedwig Peil (current owner Kristen Peil’s great-grandmother) is grouped together with neighboring plots and purchased by the Town of Baileys Harbor to build a school.
Architect Fred Crandall begins work on the newly commissioned schoolhouse .
1918
Construction is completed on the Baileys Harbor District #1 Schoolhouse.
Circa 1935
The schoolhouse operates with two classrooms, teaching grades 1st through 8th.
On the left, note Mr. Viste, the longest serving principal in the Baileys Harbor District #1 Schoolhouse.
Circa 1975
Kristen’s grandfather Roland Peil and father Loren Peil worked on the 1955 brick addition which can be seen across the front.
As class sizes continued to grow, a mobile classroom was also added to the south side (left) in the 1970s.
1983
The last day of classes in the Baileys Harbor District #1 Schoolhouse.
1987
After housing the public library and town offices, The Town of Baileys Harbor offered the schoolhouse for commercial rental use.
Annie Peil, Kristen’s mother, moves her successful art and antiques business into the schoolhouse in 1987.
Circa 1990
Kristen Peil officially adds a vintage clothing boutique to her mother’s existing shop.
1994
Annie and Loren Peil save the historic Baileys Harbor building from demolition by purchasing it from the town.
The first room is converted into lodging.
2003
Annie and Loren complete the renovation of the schoolhouse into a seven-room inn, completing a majority of the construction themselves.
2016
Kristen Peil and Caleb Whitney, along with daughter Ida, purchase the building in 2016.
The family continues to carry on the tradition of the hands-on ownership that has preserved the schoolhouse for the past 108 years.
Our Family Legacy and The Schoolhouse
Hedwig Peil
Kristen Peil
Hedwig Peil
1st Generation
(Kristen’s great grandmother)
Hedwig assisted with the school’s land acquisition in 1917 and served as the building’s custodial staff.
Roland Peil
Kristen Peil
Hedwig Peil
2nd Generation
(Kristen’s grandfather)
Roland spent his entire formal (1st-8th grade) education at the schoolhouse. He went on to work with the construction crew who built the brick addition in the 1950s.
Loren Peil
Kristen Peil
Kristen Peil
3rd Generation
(Kristen’s father)
Loren attended the school and is the original lodging owner. After renting the space for many years, Loren along with his wife Annie purchased the schoolhouse from the Town of Baileys Harbor in 1994. As their “retirement” began so did renovations for Orphan Annie’s Schoolhouse Inn.
Kristen Peil
Kristen Peil
Kristen Peil
4th Generation
(Current Owner)
Kristen attended school in the original building and ran a vintage clothing boutique alongside her mother Annie Peli’s antique store in the schoolhouse during the 90s.
Kristen and her husband Caleb bought the property in 2016.
Fourth and Fifth Generation Authenticity
The 1917 schoolhouse has been a part of our fifth-generation Baileys Harbor family since the acquisition of the building’s land in 1917. Today, Kristen Peil, Caleb Whitney and their daughter Ida Whitney take great pride in continuing the family legacy through hands-on ownership and operation of the inn.
Historic Photograph Book
The current owners Kristen Peil and Caleb Whitney published a pictorial timeline of the District #1 Schoolhouse! Starting back in the early days of 1862, construction blueprints, decades of class photos and generations of businesses are all recorded.
By curating this collection, Kristen and Caleb hope to encourage others to share their stories about and photos of the schoolhouse.
Photography Coffee Table Book
Caleb and Kristen’s daughter Ida has been photographing the schoolhouse for over half a decade. She published this small coffee table book as a keepsake for all who have fallen in love with the inn, just like her.