Built for a Growing Community
The story begins with Bonners Ferry’s early growth. Founded in 1864 as a trading post and ferry crossing, the town developed into an important regional center as logging, agriculture, and rail connections expanded the local economy. By the early 1910s, that growth was putting pressure on the school system, especially on the north side of the river, where enrollment had outgrown existing space.
The current brick North Side School was built in 1912 to meet that need, replacing an earlier two-room school on the same site. Designed by the Spokane architectural firm Keith and Whitehouse and built by J.G. Cox, the new school was funded through a bond issue, with the final cost reaching about $15,000. After opening, the school quickly became an important part of everyday life for families in the neighborhood.
A School Designed to Last
From the beginning, the building stood out. It was more substantial and more architecturally refined than many small-town schools of its era, with brick construction, terra cotta trim, decorative masonry, and a bracketed entrance porch. Built on a high concrete basement and planned with an additional wing that was never added, it developed the slightly asymmetrical form it still has today. Inside, the layout included multiple classrooms, cloakrooms, and flexible spaces that supported both instruction and school events.
Generations of Local Memories
North Side School served Bonners Ferry as a public school for more than 75 years. From its opening until its closure in June 1990, it educated generations of local children and became closely tied to the identity of the community. For many families in Boundary County, the building is not just historic in the abstract. It is personal. Parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents passed through its classrooms, which helps explain why the building still carries so much meaning locally.
From Schoolhouse to Historic Landmark
After the school closed, the building moved into a new chapter. It became a private residence in 1991, and in 1992 it was added to the National Register of Historic Places. That recognition reflected both its architectural character and its importance to the history of education in Bonners Ferry. The historic listing also connects the building to its current address at 6497 Comanche Street, confirming that today’s inn is the same North Side School recognized for its historic significance.
A New Life as a Bed and Breakfast
The next transformation came when Gene and Ruth Perry took on the property and reimagined it as a bed and breakfast. The conversion preserved the building’s schoolhouse identity while adapting it for guests. Original elements were retained, the character of the structure remained intact, and the old school began a second public life as a place of hospitality. The bed and breakfast opened in January 2007, giving the building a renewed role without separating it from its past.
The Current Chapter
That spirit of continuity carried forward again in 2018, when Frank and Jerri Duarte discovered the property while looking for retirement land in North Idaho. What began as a visit quickly turned into something more meaningful. They saw the building not only as a remarkable historic place, but as an opportunity to create a family business that could bring multiple generations together in Bonners Ferry. Their daughter Corina and her husband Eric Johnson joined them in that vision, and by March 2019 three generations of the family were living and working together at the former schoolhouse.
Since then, the Duarte and Johnson family has continued operating the property as Northside School Bed and Breakfast while keeping its history front and center. The inn now offers nine themed guest rooms, each with its own personality, along with private baths, breakfast service, and views of the mountains, river, and valley. Historic details throughout the building help connect the guest experience to the school’s original life, making the property feel rooted in place rather than simply repurposed.
More Than A Local Landmark
That is part of what makes Northside School so special. It is not just an old building that managed to survive. It is a building that adapted with the times while keeping its identity. First it served Bonners Ferry as a school, then as a home, and now as a welcoming inn. More than a century after it was built, it is still doing what it has always done best: bringing people together under one roof in a way that feels distinctly local, enduring, and full of story.
