History of Our Campus Site

Note: This is a news article from the Bellingham Herald dated May 25th, 1955

Local leaders and school officials gathered in 1956 to break ground on the new property.

Bellingham School District’s newly-acquired site for a vocational school to serve the city and other parts of Northwest Washington, as well as an eventual second high school, is located on one of the oldest properties on Bellingham Bay.

The productive 25-acre truck farm sold by Mr. and Mrs. Frank C. Tiscornia, 2622 Nome St., is part of the historic Eldridge Donation at Squalicum Creek.

Edward and Teresa Eldridge were the first couple to settle on the Bay, more than a century ago, soon after Henry Roeder and Russell Peabody decided to build their lumber mill at Whatcom Creek Falls in December, 1852.

Eldridge filed the 160 acres to which he was entitled under the Donation Land Act just east of the creek. His wife, Teresa—who was to become known as the “mother of Whatcom”—recorded 160 acres on the other side. It is part of the latter area which the directors of District 501 voted Monday night to buy from the Tiscornias.

The Tiscornia Family sold the 25-acre site to Bellingham School District in 1955.

Born on Property

Mrs. Tiscornia, the former Ellen Tabacco, was born on the place, Sept. 1, 1911, in a two-story home which later made way for the family’s present residence.
Her father, the late Sylivio Tabacco dug stumps from the property to raise produce from the land 50 years ago, and it has been in use as a truck farm ever since. Tabacco rented the farm from Hugh Eldridge and operated it for 20 years.

The Tiscornias-brothers Frank and Lawrence and their father, bought the property in 1924 and continued its’ operation as a truck farm. Recently, the Frank Tiscornias became the sole owners.

Automotive instructor Ray Smith would go on to become the first Director of BTC.

“I hate to sell,” commented Mrs. Tiscornia, after being advised that the school board Monday night decided to exercise an option given by the couple. “I left it up to my husband, though, because he’d done all the work on the place.”

They have the right to continue to farm 20 of the 25 acres for two years, and also retained their family home and four lots.

The couple rejected an offer to buy made previously by a realtor. However, Tiscornia was swayed by the $55,000 bid when he learned it would be used for school purposes. They have a 16-year-old son, John, in high school.