Amherst Steele High School - Amherstonian Yearbook (Amherst, OH)

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In Grateful Tribute to Miss Annie Campbell Who has given so willingly of her time and talent That we might know the joy and inspiration of True Art We Declicate Our Annual

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'Jr' ll A ' -- ' TMJ it-I lllllllllt T illllllfl lmlllli' 'mmm I'--.nhlwk-nu.--. K History of Steele Dayton has always been noted for the way in which it has fostered education, for even as far back as 1807, there had been founded the Dayton Academy, a private institution. About 1840, a, public school was established. Ten years afterwards, in 1850, our first public High School, one of the earliest in the state, was organized. The first class, which was graduated June 23, 1854, had two graduates. The diploma of one, Hester VVidener. has the signature of the principal, james Campbell, the father of Miss Campbell of the Art Department. This diploma now hangs in our principal's office. p On the site where the Dayton Academy had been, Central High School was built in 1857. It was here that the student of the classics found work in both Latin and Greek, equal to his aspirations. He read, after he had completed a preparatory course, Caesar's Commentaries, the larger part of Virgil's Aeneid, some of the Eclogues, the most famous orations of Cicero, the Odes of Horace, and a large amount of Livy. In Greek, he translated the Iliad, Xenophon's Anabasis, and the orations of Demosthenes. Besides these, prose composition constituted a great portion of his work. French and German were also taught. In mathematics, a student was directed in Arith- metic, Algebra, Geometry and Trigonometry, and some practical exercises in actual surveying, which were greatly enjoyed. Botany and Chemistry were the science subjects taught. The course of study pursued was in every respect equal to the one of the New England Academy, which prepared pupils for college and which imprinted forever upon them the love of higher education, a characteristic of our Anglo-Saxon forefathers. ln 1891 it became necessary to provide for a larger number of students than could be accommodated in Central High School and, acordingly, in the same year, contracts were let for the new school to be built at the intersection of Main Street and Monument Avenue. The building was formally dedicated April 13, 1894. Thus the old Central High School with all the pleasant recollections associated with it, passed into history, and the new Steele. with its beautiful architecture, became the present Alma Mater. The total cost of the school was about 5lS325,000, and at the suggestion of the Alumnal Association the building was named Steele High School to com- memorate the valuable and gratuitous services of Robert VV. Steele in the interests of the public schools of Dayton. It was thought that the building would be large enough for at least twenty years, but in the space of five years it was full to overflowing. Captain Charles B. Stivers held the principalship of the High School from 1872 until 1895. During his term, he drew close to him the love and reverence of the pupils l'.XHl'I NINE