PENASCO VALLEY HISTORICAL PRESERVATION SOCIETY

PVHPS's goal is restore and preserve the St. Anthony Parochial School, formerly the Penasco High School in Penasco, NM because of its historical significance and for the benefit to the community. Restoring and preserving the historic building will create a gathering place that unites and serves the Peñasco area through its history, culture, and traditions, and will empower the community. Restoring the St. Anthony school building will honor our history, preserve our legacy, and embrace the future.

Our initial efforts are to complete the physical restoration and preservation of the existing St. Anthony parochial school to be completed no later than the fall of 2025, the 100th anniversary of the opening of the building as the first public school in Penasco, NM.

Upon completion of the physical restoration of the St. Anthony, our society’s focus will be providing charitable services to the Penasco Valley communities. The restored building will provide local artisans, writers, musicians, and others a prime location to display and sell their products to the local community and to visiting tourists. We plan to build the "Hot Lunch," a building representing the historic cafeteria that existed when the school was active. The new "Hot Lunch" building will be a restaurant and provide subsidized meals to the needy of the community.

The St. Anthony School Building will also be a museum. The museum will include a history and the current role of the acequias (irrigation systems), and will honor local veterans, artists, writers, and musicians. It will house a collection of books written by local authors and local artwork and photos will be used for permanent and rotating exhibits. We will plan regular cultural events such as demonstrations of traditional skills and crafts. The museum will be a resource for education as it will be used for talks, lectures, and demonstrations.

The St. Anthony School Building will be a model for using the past as inspiration to inspire the future. We will showcase past practices from the community such as use of wood stoves, adobe structures, acequia systems, and home-grown food as important, affordable, and sustainable practices to be continued. The grounds will be improved for use as a community park, recreation and event center.