To view photos from the Kelly Collection, click here.

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The morning after the January 1929 fire that left the district school a charred shell.

Watkins Glen Middle School ...

A Look Back --- A Look Forward: Part 2

By Brian J. O'Donnell

The Village of CULVERSTOWN was named in 1791 for settler/pioneer DAVID CULVER; then the Village area was composed of two rival communities called SALUBRIA & SAVOY. In 1842 the two communities combined to form JEFFERSON; in 1852 the Village was named WATKINS after leading citizen DR. SAMUEL WATKINS; and in 1926 it was renamed WATKINS GLEN.

Our school district has gone from the Watkins Union School (1863-1922) to the Watkins School District, then to the Watkins Glen School District (1923-1950s) and the Watkins Glen Central School District (1950s-Present). The District survived the Centralization debates of the 1950s and the closing of dozens of one- and two-room school houses and the closing of the Burdett School in 1975. The District also went from the Athletic Association of 1909 to the Southern Counties League in 1916 to the more recent Lakes Region League to the current Interscholastic Athletic Conference. Seems like change has been "the name of the game."

Last month in Part I of this series I spoke of the very important early dates in public education in Watkins Glen and the "other" facilities on the site bordered by Decatur, 9th, 10th and Porter Streets and the horrific fires that consumed those facilities. The building we now call the Watkins Glen Middle School opened as a K-12 school in time for the Class of 1931 to graduate from the "new" facility. From 1931-1953 the K-12 structure continued and in 1953 K-6 students moved to the new Elementary School. From 1953-1969 the old facility remained as a Grade 7-12 facility until the opening of the new High School in September of 1969.

So this school year -- 2013/2014 -- is the 44th and final year of operation for what we all know as the Middle School. As the District prepares to close the structure and sell the property to a housing / apartment developer, many hundreds of people remember the facility as an elementary school, a Junior/Senior High facility AND a Middle School. This final change then as the District consolidates onto one campus is the biggest change of all during the past 161 years of our District (dating back to 1853 and the Last Will & Testament of CYNTHIA ANN FREER, the widow of DR.SAMUEL WATKINS, who gave the land on which the school stands today; or "just" 131 years after MARY FREER became the very first graduate of the Watkins High School in 1883.

After that sad winter morning in January of 1929 when the District school facility burned, it really didn't take the citizens of Watkins Glen long to rally together and plan for the new facility (today's Middle School). During the winter and spring of that year -- while the charred remains of the old facility remained standing -- the contract for planning the new structure was awarded to CARL C. ADE, a noted architect from Rochester, N.Y. The plans were unveiled at a public meeting and received quick approval, and on May 22, 1929 a bond issue of $250,000 was voted upon (with only 17 votes against it). Soon contracts were signed and the new construction began in earnest.

Issues of the school newspaper, the "PEPPER POT," chronicled the progress while classes met elsewhere and education continued throughout this challenging time. One of the most iconic pictures I've ever seen illustrates the laying of the cornerstone for this new facility. Among those in the picture are: Board President W.W. CLUTE, Board Members J.B.MACREERY, J.M. WALSH, H.C. STOUFFER, DR. W.W. VAN DERHOFF, L.H. GROS JEAN, Principal JOHN A. BEERS and Architect CARL ADE. A copper box made by M.D. TURNER in the tin shop of Woodward and Stouffer from material purchased from L.H. DURLAND, Sons & Co., was deposited in the cornerstone and filled with material prepared by PRINCIPAL BEERS.

Board Member JOHN M. WALSH was Vice President of the Glen Springs Corporation, WARREN W. CLUTE was President and a founder of the Watkins Glen Salt Company and Glen National Bank, LEON R. GROS JEAN was General Superintendent of the International Salt Company Plant, WILLIAM F. MACREERY was owner of MACREERY Lumber, DR. VANDERHOFF was a dentist and HARRY C. STOUFFER was a partner in Woodward & Stouffer; which later became Isley Hardware.

In the copper box in the cornerstone are the following items of interest:
-- two cards containing the names of the members of the Board of Education, together with Board committee members, district officers, the librarians, and the names of the entire school faculty;
-- a letterhead of the Watkins Glen High School;
-- a copy of the Watkins Express for the week of August 1, 1929;
-- two copies of the school magazine, "The Pepper Pot" -- one of the Easter edition containing a short history of the school, the other the Commencement edition containing the Commencement activities of the previous June....and.....
-- a photograph of the old building standing before the fire; another after the fire; and a third showing the progress of the new facility to date.

In Part III of this series, look for some of the people and events that contributed to the history and heritage of the facility on Decatur Street.

Photos in text:

Top: The school prior to the fire of 1929
Bottom: Laying of the cornerstone

To read Part 1 of this series, click here.