Georgetown High School - Buffalo Yearbook (Georgetown, IL)

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v- ---L9 Ciiwagtzlief 27--to-A----P --H -A GEORGETOWNS SCHOOLS IN 1827 with the beginning of the town of Georgetown, the first school house was built in the public square. This was necessarily a very simple structure, a one room log building in which a subscription school was taught by H. Givens, who was later succeeded by Owen West. This school went out of existence withthe founding of the George- town seminary in 1844 by the Methodist Conference. The seminary under the management of Prof. Jessie H. Moore gained such a good reputation that it became the center of education for the surrounding country. The school was conducted in an old frame building until 1848 when a new, two- story brick building was completed. Prof. Moore SEMINARY was later succeeded by John P. Johnson and the district school became a part of the seminary. SCHOOL While the seminary ASHINGTON was growing and prosper- ing so many young men and women attended that it was hard for them to find board and lodging and many were compelled to stay in farmhouses a long way from town. Every SCHOOL year, in the spring, an ex- hibition of two or three days duration, consisting of essays, declamations, and orations was put on the boards is literally correct because no building in Georgetown was big enough to accommodate the crowds which attend- ed and a platform of boards was built at one end of the seminary building. FRAZIER In 1861 the seminary was disbanded and a publis school was estab- lished in the seminary building. Later a new public school building, which is now called the Washington School, was erected on what was then known as the old lot. New courses were soon added and in 1886 diplomas were presented to the first class graduating from Georgetown High School. A second school building was erected, in 1904, on the old seminary IDX-B T -Q' R TFT :AX S7 I 'E P s g H-ENN iadifagi, . Mi ll Y' 1 fjlmmm ,u,M g i ll lill lillll l K i.i-Vi .lligflf U

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+ - - Q L.-9 Ciwagtzlia 27 f- A eff- W-- Elections for this voting precinct were held here from the first. The polls were located in an old building which stood north of Frazier's store, and which afterwards was converted into a Methodist church. Voters were required to give in their votes out loud. The post office was established in Georgetown about 1828. The mail route ran from here to Paris and the mail was carried by men riding on horseback. Benjamin Canaday was, for a long time, postmaster. Among the men whose lives were a part of the early history and business success of Georgetown were Patrick Cowan, J. H. Goddard, G. W. Hallowayg John Sloan, the first blacksmithg Mr. Brazelton, the first tavern keeperg Thomas Heywood, one of the earliest doctorsg and his successor, Dr. Richard Holmes. Early in the history of George- town her first hard , road was built, a . plank road which . ran from George- 4 town to Perrysville. 5 This was a toll road 2 made from planks z about sixteen feet long which were laid crossways mak- B ing what is called a 1 corduroy road. It ! was the main route over which grain was carried to the Wabash river for shipping. For pas- senger service there was, in early times, a stage coach line which ran along the Bum in ,348 state road from Danville to Paris. Georgetown was a station where teams were changed. There was also at one time a bus line which ran along the route of the present railway. It was over this that troops were hauled to Danville at the time of the Civil war. The railroad, which was first called the P. 8z D., was built about 1871 and ran from Paris to Danville. The first trains were accommodation trains carrying both passengers and freight and ran at no great speed but they caused much excitement among the residents and the whole town turned out regularly to see them go through. During the time of the Civil war three full companies were enlisted from Georgetown, Co. A of the 26th regiment, Co. C of the 73rd and Co. D of the 125th. Before the war began there was much sympathy here with the slaves and a station on the underground railway was maintained on the farm of the grandfather of Mr. Alfred Lewis. This station was located about three miles east of town, just west of Jonathan Ramey's farm. THE OLD SEMINARY Page Six f l fx' ttirelrarl lo A, g ll i tll X35 l'

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9-+-L.-SJ giwagfzlia 27 f+ f A 9 eff 9 grounds. The high school and eighth grade moved into this Seminary building and the faculty was increased to nine members. Mr. O. P. Rees took charge of the high school at this time and con- tinued as principal for sixteen years, during which time he did much toward raising the school to its present high standard. At the beginning of his principalship the high school course was outlined to meet the en- trance requirements of the University of Illinois. In 1912 when the new township high school was organized he was retained as principal and he saw the school make a steady growth under his leadership. By the removal of the high school work, the crowded conditions in the grades were relieved for a time but increased enrollment has since then made it necessary to build first an addition to the Seminary building and finally a new building called the Frazier school. In 1921 Mr. Ward N. Black was elected principal of the high school and in 1924 he was put at the head of all the s-chools of the city. Since he became principal the high school has more than doubled in enrollment and the grade schools have continued in their growth. For the year 1927 the enrollment was 225 for the high school and 923 for the grade schools. The high school had a faculty of twelve teachers and the grades had three prin- cipals and thirty-one other teachers. Georgetown has a school system of THE EAST which she is justly proudg the Work done is of high grade and the spirit in town and school is good. ANAISQX CAMPUS The first hundred years have been years of progressg the fu- HOUSE ture should be marked by a contin- ued develop- ment in ev- ery depart- ment of the THE Georgetown Schools. GEORGETOWN TOWNSHIP HIGH SCHOOL SUN TM PKEYM l 'Tl A l 14 1 it Ui-xx 424 5+ X ' E - iff .Li li I, nnmm .. ....... g .mi-nm' lltl llllll ll .l il gill? - W 5'