Snapshots of History by Mike Avitt
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By Mike Avitt
Mount Ayr’s first brick school was built in 1875 and added onto in 1881. This was the only high school in Ringgold County at this time and it attracted many students. A new building was needed.
Buried on page 8 of the May 2, 1895 Mt. Ayr Journal were the results of the new school bond issue; 127 for and 47 against. Talk about low voter turnout.
Bids were taken for construction of the new school and, as always, the bids were too high. The Ringgold Record said the board of supervisors had a limit of $11,000, but, after some negotiating, the bid was let to Northern (Northwestern) Building Company of Sioux City for $14,000. J. E. Nason was in Mount Ayr to represent the firm. The bid included Northern Building salvaging the old school for material.
Will Hayes and his crew finished excavating in July. Construction for the new school building began soon after the excavation work.
The new schoolhouse opened for classes on December 30, 1895. The dimensions of the edifice were 97 feet by 85 feet; two stories with a basement. Enrollment was around 400 with 16 pupils in the senior class. The town was proud of such a beautiful and modern building.
But, oh, how quickly this building became obsolete. In March 1912, Mount Ayr School Board President George Allyn (owner of the Mt. Ayr Bank) was published in the Record-News making the case for a new building. The number one reason for a new school was needed space. The enrollment had grown and the old school was too small. On April 3, 1912, the bond issue passed which was promised not to exceed $45,000. Men voted 212 for and 85 against. Women voted 138 for and 34 against.
So, after 17 years, the 1895 school would be demolished. Let’s explore some possibilities.
The 1895 building was built without kindergarten rooms, manual training gymnasium, plumbing, electrical conduits and cafeteria. Since 1895, all of these things became popular. Electricity came in 1909 and running water in 1914, although running water was a certainty by 1912. Hot lunches didn’t come until 1941, but a dining hall was needed.
Basketball became exceedingly popular here in the late 1890s. So popular in fact, the girls had a team by 1902. Therefore, a gymnasium was desperately needed. Yep, the old school had to go.
Before the new gymnasium was built in 1912-13, basketball games were played in the Mount Ayr Opera House located at 104 East Monroe St.
The 1875, 1895 and 1912-13 schools were all built on the same lot at the intersection of Lincoln and Adams streets.
Previous school buildings were multi-story. They could occupy less square feet because of that. Stairs didn’t bother me when I was young, but now I only like the ones that go down.
