Perrysburg High School - Black and Gold Yearbook (Perrysburg, OH)

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BLACK AND GOLD as sim -aw ww s W ,N W Q mama Q ...ami we ,,5Q:w5,a Q my -sm ,. ' 4- sys 'A -fs ' ' M. ' A H ss , , ment, and most important town of the county, it occupied a very conspicuous place. In addition to its dry-goods, grocery, drug and hardware stores, of which several flourished under the patronage of the inhabitants for many miles around, there were hotels, newspapers, doctors, courts and lawyers. Perrysburg was the terminus for vessels plying from Cleveland, Buffalo and Detroit. Louis de Frontenac, a French Governor of Canada, being of adventurous nature, and who traded with the Indians, ventured beyond the Detroit River and came to this unexplored region. He was the first white man to explore the boundaries of this river - - known as the Miami-of-the-Lake . The vestiges of these departed industrial glories have been erased and the memory of men then prominent is greatly dimmed and the town has lost its commercial import- ance and become a place of delightful homes in the heart of the richest agricultural section of the State, and a suburb of a great city. Education in the Maumee Valley dates back before the second war with England. A private school at Miami and later 'at Fort Meigs, was the first maintained by the set- tlers. J. W. Ross, being very interested in the welfare of our community, organized a grade school in 1846. But not until 1849 was a high school founded, and then by A. D. Wright. The first building was a brick structure, 60x90 feet. The faculty at this time consisted of A. D. Wright, superintendent and principal of the high school 3 E. Olvey, principal of the grammar schoolg Miss Helen Peck, principal of the secondary schoolg -l 1927 i-

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BLACK AND GOLD W H i 3 ? Q as K H 5 , S f Q s H s H Eb wg 1 .Hs 3 Q 5, s 1. H X H-if so af 5 gmt , , V. :Q .ml . . is . . M W ' sgsttlffs at 'E' , . .. ta Q H we e. s 5.5.2 ef -f Q Q 2 . . as 2 H u flag? .se was E new X I, sis gmiwissg- 'gags' , Z i me frssts' 5S?w :reg rl Q . a-are-5 sas. we W! 151 M nl 1 :ggi saw: a storm but the site is marked and a stone is to be placed there. The huge rifle that was used was said to be so heavy that a soldier could not carry it on a march, was more than ten feet long, and its bore would admit a broom handle. The fort was not abandoned by the government until 1815, but the year before, several soldiers brought their families to the fort and established the town of Orleans on the broad flat near the present bridge. After Perrysburg was incorporated and named after Commodore Perry, the better location caused Perrysburg to grow and Orleans to decline. Now a trace of the old settlement cannot be found. About a mile from the old Fort Meigs is Buttonwood Island, and on it the Indians assembled in 1833, where all were vaccinated and made ready for deportation to the west by the government. The Fremont Pike now takes the place of the old Indian trail that connected Fort Meigs with Fort Stephenson. In 1908, a monument was erected at Fort Meigs in honor of those who so gallantly fought on that sacred ground. The monument is 87 feet tall with a 34-foot base, at a cost of S14,000, of Barre granite. In 1923, a monument was erected in honor of the Pennsylvania Blues. As soon as Perrysburg was chartered, it grew very rapidly. A dock and large warehouse were built at the foot of Main St. Several factories were built, most of which were run by water power. There were also several planing mills, tanneries and a shipyard. In the early seventies, when Perrysburg was the seat of the govern- 1 1927 -

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BLACK AND GOLD 5 -f1'?'5 i - E --w Miss Mary Jones, principal of the primary school, Mrs. C. J. Wright, teacher of draw- ing and painting and Mrs. T. Robertson, teacher of piano. The schedule in the begin- ning of this high school varied greatly from the present one, it included algebra, geo- metry, surveying, orthography, rhetoric, elocution, physiology, natural, mental and moral philosophy, botany, Zoology, mineralogy, history, bookkeeping, science of government, composition and declamation, latin and g1'eek. Because of the increase of students entering P. H. S. every year, the building was enlarged in 1868 only to be destroyed by fire in 1894. The present building was built in 1895 and enlarged in 1917. In 1915, manual training and domestic science were in- troducd. In 1917, when the school was enlarged, these subjects were intensified. The Domestic Science Room was equipped by Miss Sally Libbey. Our library which was installed in 1920-21, was principally the gift of Col. George Greenhalgh. Mrs. W. S. Walbridge gave a flag staff and colors to the school. The high school enrollment has increased very rapidly. In the first year of our school, 1849, the students numbered fifty. Today they number about eight hundred, two hundred and twenty being high school students. The high school has two literary societies, the Athenian and Phi Sigma. Every spring, when contest time comes around, there is much friendly rivalry shown. This year, to the original contest which consisted of essay, oration, reading and debate, a vocal solo, boys' vocal duet and girls' vocal duet were added. -- 1927 -+-