Crawfordsville High School - Athenian Yearbook (Crawfordsville, IN)

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. . - Ukmflll-lClllFlll History Many, many years ago, ninety to be exact, the city of Crawfordsville had no high school. Young gentlemen who sought a secondary school education might attend the Wabash prep school, and on Washington Street there was a seminary for young ladies, but public institutions for education were unheard of. A few years later the building on Washington Street burned, so the girls' classes were temporarily held in the basement of Center Church. In March, 1852 Jefferson Square, originally the location of the Canby home, was purchased by the Crawfordsville Female Society and the Canby home became the Crawfordsville Female Seminary. This institution flourished for several years and many excellent teachers were brought from the East. Although there was no actual graduation from the Seminary, the students who had completed the course were given certificates to that effect. In July, 1857 the Jefferson Square was conveyed to the president and trustees of the Town Board of Crawfordsville, complete with the frame house and a brick building. These structures were used for more than ten years, the frame building housing the primary grades and tl1e brick building accommodating high school students. By 1870 the enrollment had become so large that it was necessary to have more room and better equipment, so agitation was begun for a system of public schools. In 1872 work was begun on a new Central Building which was to house all grades from one to twelve, and later the two old buildings were removed. In October of that same year the building was opened, but the primary grades were still held in the frame house. By September, 1873 twelve rooms were ready for occupation. The completed building was arranged in this way. The superintendent 's office and the high school were on the first floor, and the primary and grammar school students occupied the second and third stories. Later, in 1880, two wings were added to make more room. In 1877 Crawfordsville High School was commissioned by the State Board of Education, and in June the first students to be graduated by the high school were given their diplomas. They were: Mary E. Brown, Stella Brown, An-nie E. Divine, Jane Krout, Kate Krout, Elizabeth T. Kennedy, Mary H. Lewis, Mary Josephine Stilwell, Mary E. NVelty. On April 2, 1892 a, fire broke out in the dome of the high school. A high wind fanned the fiames until the entire roof was afire. Although the roof was demolished, the walls remained intact, so it was believed advisable to rebuild and redecorate immediately. During this process the classes were held in the South and Center Halls of Wabash. The chemistry department and the printing shop had been on the third floor and were destroyed. When the building was remodeled these two departments were not included. Chem- istry did not again become a part of the curriculum until sometime in the 1920's and printing was not renewed until still later. This building was used until 1910 when the first portion of the present structure was built. The students today are more fortunate than those of Central were. Way back then there were no athletics, no clubs, no school paper, and no yearbook. Each class was one-half hour long, and there were twelve classes each day. However, in 1903 Crawfordsville joined the Central Indiana High School Oratorical Association and has been taking part in the contests ever since. In 1909 the Non Pareil Society was formed and was later Page Eight

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UADAT4-ICTIIAH II. T. nTCCITI.I.OI'Gl1 Dedication lim-vzlllsu hu trains boys as well as ioznnsg IWURIIISU llc is El good sport himsclfg lu-valllse lm supports all svlmol nutivifim-sg 11002111811 hu always is friumlly :md has a smile for Gveryonog and lwvullsv he is 21, g0Ilf1CIll2Ill-XV6 dedicate thu 1940 A'1'lllcNI.xN to H, T, RTCCIIHOIIQIII 1,fl!Il' S1'w'n,

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FfAaATllClllFll'l affiliated with the national organization and became known as the Non Pareil chapter of the National Honor Society. The awards were given originally at commencement and only the seniors received them. Athletics were introduced in the high school in 1898 and for a while all boys were automatically members of an Athletic Association. The boys must have been good, for on a memorable day in 1900 C. H. S. defeated Wabasli in a track meet. Two years later a girls' athletic association was organized. Other clubs and social activities were added until Crawfordsville High School had the well balanced system of class room and extra-curricular activities that it possesses today. Journalistic and literary societies sprang up and in 1923 the first issue of the Gold and Blue was printed. 1902 marked the beginning of the senior class efforts to set down a permanent record of school activities. This first effort was called the Utopian which was followed in 1904 by Ye Yeare Booke. Once upon a time C. H. S. had test exemptions-the only catch was the necessity of having an average of 90 or above. Exams, if taken, were different, too. The schedule corresponded to that used in colleges. It wasn't necessary for the student to go to school unless he had a test, and each department was allowed a half day in which to give exams. Chapel programs were sometimes held as often as twice a week and were conducted by the students themselves. A program might have gone something like this. Hymns sung by everyone and led by the mixed quartet, devotionals, a reading or a speech, a number by the eleven piece orchestra, and finally the Gold and Blue which everyone sang with much gusto. As the enrollment of the high school grew and educational facilities expanded, it became necessary to build an addition to the building. 1910 marked the first step in the construction of C. H. S. as it is seen today. The front hall and two rooms on the east and west corridors were built first, but Old Central was still used for some classes. Later in 1915 two more rooms were added on each side. By this time the old building was almost completely surrounded. When the remaining rooms were added in 1919, Central was torn down to make room for the auditorium. The fourth and latest addition was begun in March, 1939 when the base- ment excavation began to take place near the tennis courts. Slowly tho building grew-from a mass of concrete and steel to a finished production, another step in the progress of C. 'H. S. Besides a magnificant gymnasium which will seat over 2300, the building contains twelve classrooms each having complete and new equipment, two gymnasium floors, one for boys and one for girls with shower and locker rooms for each, and several band practice rooms. Classes in commercial, agriculture, biology, mechanical drawing, and physical education work are held in the new building. Thus is the school history brought up to date and what a colorful history it has been. The class of 1940 is adding its work as a stepping stone toward an even greater future for this, our school. CThank you, Mrs. Wilhite, Miss Guilliams, Miss Bowers, Mr. Biddle, Mr. Kritz, and others who so graciously gave us the information needed for this history and for other bits of history that are scattered through the book.- JEAN AND WIN'1'oN.J Page N inc