Huntsville School

Huntsville School built ca 1883

The first Huntsville School was built ca 1861. It was later used as a residence.

The first high school class to graduate from the Huntsville School in 1888.

Laying the corner stone for the new Huntsville school in 1912.

Grading the new Huntsville school yard in 1913

Playing ball at the Huntsville School.

Huntsville students with their kid wagon driver Royt Fullerton.

The McArthur-Huntsville School was one of the first schools in the county to offer manual training

Manual Training class at McArthur-Huntsville school

The McArthur-Huntsville School was one of the first schools in the county to offer Domestic Science

Domestic Science class at McArthur-Huntsville School

The 1924 Huntsville Basketball team

The 1934 Huntsville girls' basketball team

Huntsville school bus and driver.

1934 Huntsville School Operetta

Huntsville Hunters High School flag

Megaphone used by the Huntsville Hunters cheerleaders in the early 1950s

The 1962 Huntsville Local class was the last to graduate from the Huntsville building

The Huntsville School building pictured ca 1986

The first school in the village Huntsville was built around 1861 on Wishart St. It was a two-story building consisting of two rooms. The school building served the needs of the community for nearly twenty years.

As the village grew, the school soon became too small. In about 1883, a new frame school was built. It had two rooms on the first floor and two rooms on the second floor. The first eight grades were taught at the school. It wasn’t until 1887 that a high school was added. This made it necessary to have three grades in each of the four rooms. The first class graduated in 1888 with six members. Since the school did not have an auditorium, the graduation ceremonies were held in local churches.

At first, only the children of Huntsville or those living nearby attended the school. McArthur Township had nine one-room schools, Northwood, Fort Moluntha, Hickory Grove, Chipmunk, Herrod, Oak Ridge, Cat Swamp, Buzzard’s Glory, and Wallace School. Pupils from the township schools who wished to attend high school had to enroll at the Huntsville School.

By 1906, some of the one-room schools had so few students that it was less expensive to pay their tuition at the Huntsville School. Around 1910, a school centralization plan was made. Two years later, the township schools were transferred to Huntsville. With the increase in students, a larger school was needed. A bond issue was passed at the May 1912 election. Ground was broken for a new McArthur-Huntsville school on September 5, 1912. A time capsule was placed in the cornerstone. During construction, some classes were held at the McArthur Township house.

The McArthur-Huntsville school was one of the first schools in the county to have Manual Training and Domestic Science classes, and it had a gymnasium where their basketball teams could play. Competition between the schools was strong and probably the biggest basketball rivalry was between Huntsville and Belle Center. The school colors were blue and gold, but the Huntsville Hunters changed to green and white during the mid-1920s.

In 1938, an addition was added to the east end of the building for additional classrooms and a larger gymnasium. Around that time, the school’s name was changed to the Huntsville Village School.

During WWII, the Huntsville School was the center of local activities. On days ration stamps for sugar, gasoline, tires etc. were given out, school was dismissed at noon. The teachers worked from noon until midnight in shifts to get all the paperwork done.

During the war years, some of the teachers were drafted causing a staffing shortage. The school board discontinued basketball, plays, and other activities at that time. The 1945 Junior-Senior reception was held in January because some of the high school boys were leaving for military service. They missed their spring graduation ceremony. The Huntsville School held special assemblies when President Roosevelt died and on Victory in Europe Day on May 8, 1945.

In the late 1950s, school centralization was once again discussed. The Huntsville School did not offer many of the subjects that the State required, and they were in danger of losing their charter. During that time, there was talk about Huntsville joining the Bellefontaine School District, consolidating with Belle Center, or forming a school district with Lewistown and Lakeview.

In January 1962, the Huntsville School Board made a motion requesting the transfer of its entire district to the Indian Lake School District. The 1962 senior students were the last to graduate from Huntsville High School. The Huntsville building then served as an elementary school for the Indian Lake School District.

On May 15, 2009, Huntsville Elementary students performed a special finale at their Grandparents Day program. The 330 students sang “Happy Trails” to a packed gymnasium of about 450 people. It was a bittersweet performance as the school was permanently closing on May 28^th. The students from kindergarten through fourth grade then joined the Lakeview Elementary School students at the new Indian Lake Elementary School in the fall.

When the Huntsville School building was razed in September 2009, the time capsule that had been placed during construction in 1912 was recovered. It contained a treasure trove of local newspapers, pictures, money, a Bible and a seven-page letter explaining the district’s history. The Huntsville School served the community for over 100 years.