Memories, memorabilia sought of Mulberry Street schools
MOUNT VERNON — The history of the 4-acre parcel of land that sits nestled between North Mulberry Street and North Sandusky Street goes back to the 19th century, when the first Mount Vernon High School, then known as the Central Building, was built in 1859.
The grand gothic-style building sat where the now-dilapidated middle school sits, awaiting demolition. The building we see today was not built until 1938, and did not serve as a middle school until 1971, despite its coined nickname among locals as “the old middle school.”
Before the middle school existed, a junior high building stood alongside the old high school.
The old high school was razed in 1925, with the junior high building following with its own demolition shortly after the middle school building was built behind it.
A middle school includes 6th through 8th grade, while a junior high school only includes 7th and 8th. Sixth through 8th graders from across the county were moved into the building, and 1st through 5th graders were moved into Pleasant Street.
The move happened in the middle of the school day near winter break for the students. The students were given Kroger grocery bags for their belongings, and were moved into Pleasant Street. Alumni of the school recall the move going smoothly, until a fire drill was conducted during the process.
Before the 1938 building became the middle school, it housed both junior high and high school students. The junior high students were crammed together in the lower level, according to Linette Porter-Metler, community relations and public affairs director of the Public Library of Knox County and Mount Vernon.
Overcrowding in schools was a common occurrence due to the baby boom the U.S. faced after World War II. To accommodate, Mount Vernon Senior High School was built on Martinsburg Road in 1969 and has served high school students in Mount Vernon ever since.
The middle school building that still rests on Mulberry Street was sold in 1998 after the current middle school was built, and has changed hands multiple times over the years.
Talks of it becoming a residential care facility or an apartment complex circulated but never became a reality. Improvements have tried to be made with new windows and repairs done to the roof, but after multiple break-ins and fires, it started to feel like a losing battle and the building was abandoned and left to further decay.
With the unknown fate of the old middle school and talks of demolition, the Knox County Landmark Foundation and the Public Library of Mount Vernon have partnered to host Memories of Mulberry Street School, an event that will dive into the rich history and memories of the schools that have come and gone. Both organizations, and the Knox County Historical Society, have come together to understand the long and complex history of all the schools, but mainly the old middle school.
“All we knew is that we were seeing on Facebook, whenever someone would bring up the old middle school, lots of people wanted to be able to talk about their experiences there,” said Stacy Haught, chair of the Knox County Landmark Foundation’s committee of the Memories of Mulberry Street School event. “People seemed to really want to share their memories, but didn’t necessarily have a place to go, so this is where this idea came from. We want to give people a place and a time to celebrate or share memories and just connect.”
At the event, it’ll be made apparent that despite being a smaller community, Mount Vernon held education in high esteem.
“I think that is the secret to the success of this community and this county. It valued education, it valued life skills,” Porter-Metler said.
Back in the 1800’s, high school was reserved for the elite. According to Porter-Metler, the majority of students only attended school through the 8th grade.
“If you were eligible to go to high school, that was a big deal. There were stories how they would catch the trolley to get here. You were either pretty wealthy, or your family really valued education,” Porter-Metler said.
Porter-Metler also noted a rather peculiar finding in yearbooks dating to the Civil War era. Some of the graduating classes of the first high school included a few African-Americans, so Porter-Metler assumes the school was integrated. In the late 1800s, the majority of schools were segregated as per Plessy v. Ferguson. Despite the “separate but equal” doctrine, the education levels of the schools varied greatly. The fact that Mount Vernon provided an integrated high school for the county was just further proof that the city valued education.
Education first became a cornerstone in Knox County in the 1800s, but that still rings true today. Between the city of Mount Vernon and the village of Gambier, there are three different collegiate institutions, something both Haught and Porter-Metler consider a rarity.
A quick visit to downtown would make that apparent to any visitor -- buildings from Mount Vernon Nazarene University, Kenyon College, and Central Ohio Technical College line Main Street, and make up a considerable portion of the area.
Despite the buildings that have been lost, the history and memories still linger in those who attended. Memories of Mulberry Street School is a way for those memories and stories to be told, further enriching the history and untangling the complex past of education in the county.
Guests will be able to view the photos and memorabilia that has been collected over the past few months of research conducted by Porter-Metler, Haught and Jim Gibson, with the Knox County Historical Society.
The event will take place Wednesday, July 31 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Mount Vernon and Knox County Public Library, located at 201 N. Mulberry St.
Overflow parking is available at the Living Center and the YMCA, if needed.
To schedule a recording time to share a memory, call 740-392-2665. Photos can be submitted to director@mainstreetmountvernon.com or dropped off at the Main Street Mount Vernon office, 210 S. Main Street.
