A Brief History of the Lyle Activity Center
- 1949 building is constructed
- 1995 (?) building is decommissioned as a school with the opening of the Dallesport Elementary School
- Various uses over the years – Head Start program, Sheriff's Office, Twin Bridges Museum however no integrated use or maintenance
- 2008 fall Horizon’s program starts with goal of reducing poverty in the communities along the Northern Pacific Railroad line and brings a diverse group of Lyle residents together to work on making the town a better place for all
- 2009 summer Lyle Horizons group conducts a community survey that found having a community center at the Old Elementary School was the most cited need in Lyle.
- 2009 Lyle School Board considers tearing down the building, sends a survey out – most respondents wanted to convert/remodel the building and turn it into a community use.
- 2009 summer - about 30 community members met at the Taproom and chipped in $20/each to form the Old Lyle Elementary School Supporters (OLESS) and make request to Lyle School District managing the building for a community resource
- 2009 summer - Community Enrichment for Klickitat County (CEKC) forms as an umbrella 501 (c) (3) non-profit with OLESS as one of its sub-groups
- 2009 November 30 First revision of OLESS Bylaws approved by the new OLESS board
- 2010 Feb 10 Lease Agreement between Lyle School District and OLESS finalized and approved. Lease agreement is updated July 22, 2016 and secures the use of the building for the community until 2030 with up to two 10 year extensions
- 2010 – 2016 OLESS brings building up to code and makes repairs to keep building functional using fundraising, donations, small grants and a LOT of volunteer labor
- 2016 April Washington State Legislative Grant for $262,000 awarded to restore the Lyle Activity Center to begin the significant restorations of new roof and windows, bathroom remodel that continues to present