Medina County High Schools - Mecoan Yearbook (Medina, OH)

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History of Litchfield School Litchfield Township, although it has one of the smallest attendances, boasts of one of the oldest histories in Medina County. It was founded in 1790 when the Western Reserve was merely a wilderness, by a Yankee family from Connecticut. At that time, the northern part of Ohio was considered a part of the Connecticut grant. Since its founding, the prin- cipal occupation of the township has been agriculture. For about a century the only schools in the township were rural one- room schools. But with the coming of good roads and other public im- provements, the schools were centralized in 1894. In fact, Litchfield was one of the first townships in the state to centralize its schools. Another unique honor that came to the township at that time concerned chiefly the women. The Litchfield women were the first in the state to take ad- vantage of the law permitting equal suffrage at school elections. It was at this time that the schools were first centralized in Litchfield Township. In 1901, the schools moved into a new frame building, which was located on South Street. At the time, this was considered one of the best build- ings in the county. In the new building was also established a High School of the second grade. For sixteen years this type of high school served the needs of the community admirably. In 1917, the State Department of Education granted the township a charter for a first grade high school. This is the same charter that is now in vogue. The attendance of the school has been steadily increasing so that in 1924 the Board of Education was obliged to secure larger quar- ters for the high school. The result was the beautiful, up-to-date, fire- proof building made of red brick and erected at an approximate cost of $28,000. The building is steam-heated, electrically-lighted and has run- ning water on both floors. The main floor has three large rooms connected by sound-proof, sliding doors, so that the whole main floor may be con- verted into one spacious auditorium for all-school purposes. Litchfield is justly proud of its new building, for which it is indebted to its Board of Education who have worked so whole-heartedly and un- selfishly in the interest of the school and community. Members of the Litchfield Township Board of Education John Radie, President B. R. Turner Willis Leach Adam Rising S. J. Wilson, Clerk

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Litchfield Marian McQuate Dennison James Ruegsfoger Baldwin- Wallace A. R. Betz, Supt. Baldwin- Wallace Thelma Overholt Mount Union

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Liverpool Janice Carnahan Clark D. Moore, Supt. Merrill A. Chaffee W. R. U. College for Women Muskingum Baldwin- Wallace Dorthy E. Perkins Mary 0. Patton Ohio Wesleyan Hiram College