Going Old SchoolA history of neighborhood schools in

EvansvilleBy Joe Engler

Kids playing outside Blankenburg School 1920s

Evansville Public SchoolsSHORT LIST OF SCHOOLS1. Canal School/Wheeler2. Carpenter School3. 9th St School/Chestnut /

Walnut4. High School/Central5. Fulton Ave School6. Baker Ave School7. Columbia8. Campbell9. Centennial10.Howell/Daniel Wertz11.Blankenburg/Cedar Hall12.Delaware13. Ingleside14.Chandler School/Stanley

Hall15.Claremont/Howard Roosa16.Henry Reis17.Reitz18.Bosse19.Lincoln20.Washington21.Mechanic Arts/North

• First schoolhouse in Vanderburgh Co. 1819 on the site of Orphan’s Home

• First Evansville school stood 1821-1850s at the corner of 3rd and Main Sts.

• Early schools were small, private, and housed in various buildings– Old churches

• High School (Old Baptist Church)– Civic buildings / fire stations

• Park School (Fulton Ave Park)• Locust St School (Franklin Fire House)• Ingle St School (Crescent Fire Co)

– Other buildings???• Main St School• Division St School (9th and Court)

• Indiana legislature enacted 1853 authorized free public schools. Horatio Q Wheeler was a local proponent

Canal Street School• First public school 1855 opens

with 748 pupils enrolled• Erected along the Wabash &

Erie Canal path• Known as Upper School when

a second school was built• Wings added 1870s (3rd St and

4th St) and middle also later rebuilt (Mulberry St School)

• Renamed Wheeler School in 1910 after Horatio Q. Wheeler, education pioneer and one of the first superintendents

• Neoclassical addition (shown right) built around 1914

• Razed 1974

Sketch of Canal School (c1860)

Wheeler School 1920s

Carpenter Street School

• Built 1859-60• Served lower part of

the city (downriver); called Lower School

• Made ornate with c1880 remodel

• Tower removed 1925• Closed 1957• Razed 1961, now site

of WTVW

Carpenter School at the turn of the century

A streamlined Carpenter School after remodel

Ninth Street School• Erected 1867 along 9th St• Renamed Chestnut School 1894 after new addition• In 1913, becomes Chestnut-Walnut School when

Walnut St building completed• School closed 1962• Walnut St school torn down c1982 and gym razed

2009, now site of EVSC offices

9th St School 1880s Walnut St School shortly after it was builtChestnut School c1900

Evansville High School

• Built 1868 after being in various locations

• Tower and wings added during 1898 remodel

• Junior high built 1913 in rear along 6th St

• Renamed Central once Reitz was built 1918

EvansvilleHigh School 1880s

Postcard of Old Central

Old Central (cont’d)

• Shifting population and limited growth forced Central to relocate to First Ave 1971

• Razed 1973 but old gym still remains

Old Central c1970s

The iconic clock tower can’t escape fate

Fulton Avenue School

• Built 1870-1 to serve the Lamasco area

• Wings added to south (1880s) and north (c1890)

• Tower removed c1920

• Closed and razed 1973

• Now site of Lewis Bakery campus

Fulton Ave School 1880s

Fulton School 1920s with wings and tower removed

Baker Avenue School

• Built 1871-2 for the North Main area• Additional buildings erected over the

years– Baker No.2 (c1886)– Virginia St School (c1890)– Gym (1922)

• Closed 1973• Razed 1976• Now site of SWIRCA

Baker School c1900

Columbia Street School

• Twin of Campbell School

• Built 1874-5 to serve the Jacobsville area

• Additions include rear wing (1895), annex (1914), and gym (1920s)

• Closed 1978• Columbia Health Care

now occupies siteColumbia School campus 1940s

Columbia School in its original form

Campbell Street School• Twin of Columbia

School• Built 1874-5 to serve

the growing Culver area (street car)

• Rebuilt after lightning destroyed the original school 1905 and took the two-building form

• Renamed Culver School in 1933 after a former principal

• Old section razed 1983. School shifted to the southeast

Culver c1980 before demolition

Campbell St School around 1895

Centennial School

• Opened 1876 during country’s centennial

• Served West Side students• Wings added c1900• Gym/cafeteria added 1940s• Closed when Helfrich Park

opened 1965• Original USI campus (ISUE)• Razed 1972• Old section stood until

recently; now empty lot behind 5/3 Bank

Centennial 1965 as ISUE

Old postcard of Centennial School

Howell School

• Howell School opens 1886 serving the town of Howell (Perry Twp)

• Renamed Daniel Wertz in 1922 after the prominent banker

• Enlarged several times over the years

• 1986 builds new facility on Red Bank Rd and moves

• Razed c1990

Howell School c1900

Daniel Wertz around the time the school moved

Blankenburg School

• Pigeon Township School• Original school opens

1892• Addition along Fulton

Ave built 1917• Renamed Emma Roach

1918 after first principal• Later additions, renamed

Cedar Hall during 1950s• New school completed

2010 and old school razed

Old Cedar Hall – a victim of progress

Blankenburg School c1920

Delaware Street School

• Built 1896 to serve the growing northeast side (Jimtown area)

• School subsumed the old section, razed 1959

• Small gym is the oldest remaining section

Sketch of the new Delaware School

Oldest remaining section – 1920s gym

Ingleside School

• Built 1899• Township School?• Behind Barker Ave

Christian Church• Closed 1920• Later converted to

apartments• Razed c1970

Only found image of Ingleside School, from aerial view 1940

Chandler Avenue School

• Built 1900 for the growing Bayard Park neighborhood

• Expanded 1915; renamed Stanley Hall

• Closed 1972• Only a small section

of the school remains today

Chandler School original entrance

New addition after renamed Stanley Hall

Claremont School

• Pigeon Township School built 1901

• Renamed Howard Roosa 1921

• Large addition 1922• Isolated by US41

and Lloyd Expressway

• Closes 2011, now Joshua Academy

Howard Roosa 1930s (original section at left)

Claremont School (Pigeon Twp) c1908

Henry Reis School

• Built 1914 to replace old Olmstead School (Pigeon Township)

• Addition 1925 triples the size of the school

• Closes 1968• Served as the North

Annex in recent years• Now Lifesong

Academy

Henry Reis 1920s before addition

Henry Reis today

Reitz High School

• Reitz built 1918 to serve the West Side

• Named after benefactor Francis Joseph Reitz

• 1921 Reitz Bowl completed

• West wing built 1926• 1950s gym and new

wing cover original façade

• 1990s link and wing added

Bird’s eye view of Reitz 1918

Reitz addition c1920 along Dreier Blvd

Reitz High (cont’d)

Addition of gym c1955 butchers the curb appeal of the school

From this aerial view, the original section of the school

is clearly visible

Bosse High School

• Plans for East Side high school begun 1922, opened 1924

• Named after Mayor Benjamin Bosse

• Enlow Field built soon after school was completed

• Additions to the rear kept the historic look

Bosse High c1927

Aerial view of Bosse and Enlow Field

Washington School

• Built from 1936-7 on Washington Ave

• Addition built in rear 1950s

• Becomes middle school 1984

Sketch of the new Washington School

Rear of Washington School just before the school opened

Mechanical School

• Mechanic Arts School built 1938

• Becomes North High School in 1956

• Several additions over the years now fronting Stringtown and Diamond

• North relocates 2012, now Academy for Innovative Studies

Mechanic Arts School after it was built

Former North High School view looking from Wedeking Ave

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Further Expansion• Dexter (a.k.a East Side School) 1949• Glenwood 1954• Fairlawn 1955• Plaza Park 1955• West Terrace 1956• Oak Hill 1957• McGary 1962• Evans 1962• Helfrich Park 1965 (replaced Centennial and West

Heights)• Stockwell 1971• Thompkins 1972

Township Schools

• Largely one-room schools• Pre-date public schools• Named and numbered• As city schools boomed, a shift in

consolidating township schools occurred to pool resources as far back as the 1920s– Scott (Consolidated) School– Union Township School– Armstrong Township School– Perry Heights (Perry Twp)– Cynthia Heights (German Twp)

Township Schools (cont’d)

[Clockwise from top left] German Twp. No. 2 (now a residence), White School (now—with addition–a church), Bockelman No. 3 School (USI campus), McCutchanville School (McCutchanville Fire Station)

Consolidation / EVSC

• Heated debates late 1940s arguing the pros and cons of consolidation

• 1950s EPS took over most county schools– Advent of Evansville-Vanderburgh School

Corporation (EVSC)– Union and Armstrong consolidated 1962

• 1984 Established Middle Schools– Some Schools became K-5– Some became 6-8

Colored Schools• Also mandated by state

but operated separately• First school at Chestnut

St and 5th St built 1867• Additional schools

followed population growth

• Colored High School– Established 1878– Housed in various buildings– Served surrounding cities– Renamed Douglass High

1919

Governor St School

Clark High School / Frederick Douglass High School c1910

Lincoln High School

• Lincoln built 1928; consolidates several colored schools

• Yearbook known as Dougite

• High school closed 1962

• New additions 2010 blend with old style

Lincoln High 1936

Lincoln Elementary 2010

Desegregation

• 1949 bill integrates schools throughout state• Evansville’s “open school” policy did little to

enforce law• EVSC was under jurisdiction of federal court• Plan in effect Sept 1972• Some kids bused elsewhere (except Scott)• Closing of “neighborhood schools”

– Stanley Hall, Wheeler, and Armstrong– Expanded to Fulton, Baker, and White

• Around 1,100 students shuffled schools

Questions?

Joe Englerjosephengler@yahoo.comHistoricEvansville.com