Central High School - Doubloon Yearbook (Columbus, OH)

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i x 11 if-gm Page Fifteen : 2 all -,l school rooms and a prin- cipal's office and the third story contained the chem- istry laboratory, a lecture room and a class room. In the fall of 1862, when the new Columbus High School was occupied, there was no special celebration to mark the occasion. A graduate of that class, when asked to explain this apparent omission, said, The pupils were so glad to have an entire building to themselves instead of the one floor and two rooms they had occupied in the State Street School, that they felt a celebration was not necessary. Every morning the pupils marched up to chapel for songs and prayer. Essays written by the pupils, six or eight each week, were read in the Chapel every Friday. Often the topics were assigned, but occasionally this was left to the choice of the students. Pen, ink and paper were used only for the compositions written on Fridays, graduation exercises, and in examinations. Slates sufficed for all class work. The girls had gymnastics on Fridays in the Chapel. For these exercises they wore red blouses and black skirts. Anyone receiving below 50 in his examinations was considered a failure in his school work. The school year, which started in September, was held for a period of nine months. School hours were from nine to twelve and from two to four. The ancient pump, which is still standing in the east yard, fur- nished drinking water for the school. In the first class to be graduated from this building in 1863 there were only twelve pupils, nine girls and three boys. The commencement exercises, in which each graduate took part, were held in the Chapel, GEORGE H, TWISS First Principal of this Building

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I Pg F ... so . age'-'B The High School Building ,Q hw HE high school building, on the southeast corner of Broad J L' ' 7 and Sixth Streets was opened for the reception of pupils on Q, 0 gg Monday September 8 1862 being the day for the com .ag Ji . . lg-134 , ,ff 2 , , , ' - giSV,QQT,,2,, mencement of the fall term of the public schools. This edifice is one of the finest school buildings in the United States, and one of the chief architectural ornaments to our city. It is Romanesque in style. It is built of red brick, with cut Waverly stone dressings, galvanized iron cornices, and slate roof. The main building is one hundred feet long by sixty broad, with a central transept twenty feet wide, projecting twelve feet on each side. There is a beautiful tower at the northwest corner, rising about one hundred and fifty feet above the pavement. Wide halls run through the building, and the stairways are spacious and of easy access. At the intersection of the corridors in the center of the building there is an octagonal bay, which runs up through the two stories of recitation rooms, and the arrangement is such that the principal can have every department under his observation and within his call from the gallery surrounding this bay or 'well-hole' in the second story. There is a capacity in the different rooms for the accommodation of two hundred and fifty pupils. On the first floor are superintendent's room in the tower, three large school rooms, and a laboratory and apparatus room. The second floor has three school rooms, and a commodious library and reading room. The third floor is appropriated to form one large hall for general exercise, public exhibitions, lectures, etc. This hall is elegantly fin- ished, and is one of the finest audience rooms in the city. The pupils enter the school rooms through small ante-chambers used for cloak rooms. In an upper room of the tower is a large tank supplied with water from the roof. This water, by means of pipes, is carried all over the building, and there is a lavatory in each cloak room. All parts of the building are supplied with gas. The arrangements for warmth and ventilation are all but perfect. The furniture in the school rooms is of the latest and most approved forms. The entire cost of the building, at the time of its completion, was set down at twenty-five thousand dollars. A few years later the board, probably anticipating the growth of the school, purchased some ground to the east and in 1877 an addition of six rooms was erected. Again in 1890 an addition of three stories and basement was made across the back of the school. The first story contained a reception room and two large school rooms. The second story had two large

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1 JF Page Sixteen 'kk fC 55 ?. F? :- 4' 'mm ,,.f-nh now our Assembly Hall. The first class had no class president, the highest honor, that of being valedictorian, was awarded Miss Virginia Howell. Her address, delivered at that time, appears elsewhere in this publication. Only two members of the first class are living, Miss Virginia Howell and Mrs. Julia Diemer Freeman. MRS. JULIA FREEMAN. '63 MISS VIRGINIA HOWELL, '63 The faculty at that time consisted of George H. Twiss, principal, W. G. Tucker, Miss M. B. Treat, Miss M. S. Prentiss and Miss A. V. Thomas. In the late sixties and early seventies practically every subject that was taught was required. The languages consisted of English, German, Latin and Greek. Under the head of mathematics came algebra, geom- try and trigonometryg under science, astronomy, physics, chemistry and physiology. During the seventies four courses, the German-English, Latin- English, and Classical, all requiring four years, and the English, a three- year course, were offered in the High School, but the English and Classical courses did not prove popular, the number taking Greek varying from seven to seventeen during the seventies. In the report of Henry Olnhausen, president of the Board of Education, 1878-79, the recommendation was made that the English and Classical courses be abolished and the Latin-English and German- English courses be retained, since the large majority of the school patrons are decidedly in favor of a course involving the study of either Latin or German.