Intermountain Indian School architectural drawings, 1950-1971

The Intermountain Indian School of Brigham City, Utah was first built as the Bushnell General Hospital in 1942, and served as a military infirmary for soldiers suffering from amputated limbs. It closed in 1946.

Two years later, Colonel Joseph A. Hill made plans to transform the old hospital into a co-ed military academy, but a just a week before these plans were finalized, Utah senator Arthur V. Watkins proposed to use the old Bushnell Hospital as a boarding school for Navajo children without a formal education. The federal government decided to make Bushnell into a boarding school for Native American students and in 1949 they appropriated $3,750,000 for the conversion of the hospital into the Intermountain Indian School.

In January of 1950, 520 Navajo students, ranging from ages 12 to 24, began at the school. It offered various classes to the students depending on their age, including vocational training for older students in hairdressing, carpentry, mechanics, farming, dental assistant training, and home economics. Reading, writing, Navajo history and other practical courses were taught to all students.

In 1974 the school became inter-tribal, boarding students from 27 different tribes including the Navajo students. Conflict arose between the many tribes which led to complaints by the local community. In 1982, the Bureau of Indian Affairs decided to close the school and move the Native American children to public schools closer to the reservations. Despite the conflict at the school, several of the tribes whose children were in attendance protested the closing. Nevertheless, the school was closed at the end of the 1982-83 school year. Between years 2010 and 2012 most of the school buildings were torn down, to make room for a new Utah State University -Brigham City campus.