Drought in the Midwest brought scores of new residents to Kalispell during the depression of the 1930s, severely overcrowding area schools. Seventh and eighth graders moved to Central School in 1929, but that building was far from adequate. Construction of the Linderman School a decade later was made possible through the Public Works Administration. Built as Central Junior High School, its construction and that of the Russell School provided work for 90 local men and benefited another 225 families. Kalispell architect Fred Brinkman designed the school to serve “all kinds of students” efficiently with a library, gymnasium seating 600 spectators, and special classrooms for music, art, and science. According to the local newspaper, Brinkman chose the Gothic Revival style because it was “considered to be best suited to the environment and type of instruction.” Cream-colored terra cotta against dark tapestry brick, copper-roofed towers, and an unusual chimney lend an old world atmosphere while Gothic stencils on the lobby and corridor walls originally continued the style within. In 1940, the school was renamed after noted Flathead Valley author Frank Linderman.
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