A History of St. Paul Central High School

 

Central High School was founded in 1866 in response to student requests. Prior to 1866, there were no educational opportunities in St. Paul beyond elementary school. About a dozen students wished to continue their schooling, so two rooms were set aside for the "High School" on the 3rd floor of the Franklin School, located at Broadway and Tenth Streets in downtown St. Paul, and the "St. Paul High School" was formed. Some people thought that the school was a waste of space.

 

Eugene Foster (known as the "Father of the High School") was the principal, and Mrs. H. M. Haynes was the lone teacher.

 

        

              1st CHS (1866) - Occupied the 3rd floor of the Franklin School on Broadway and 10th.

                                                                       Photos dated 1865.

 

 

The first graduating class was in 1870 and consisted of two students: one boy and one girl. The girl's name was Fannie Haynes (the daughter of the teacher) and the boy's name was A. P. Warren.  The first two diplomas were hand printed on sheepskin.

 

Gradually, the classes enrolled in the Franklin building became too large for the school to accommodate them, so in 1872, the high school moved to rented space in the Lindeke Building at 7th and Jackson Street where it occupied the entire 2nd floor.

 

In 1872, the graduating class consisted of 5 boys and 7 girls. In 1873, the graduating class  originated the custom of presenting each senior with a souvenir appropriate to his/her character. For several years, a prize was offered for the best essay: a Webster's Unabridged Dictionary and a holder for it. The President of the Board of Education also presented a prize to the one having the highest standing in the class, usually a fine set of Shakespeare's works.

 

Graduation exercises were held in the St. Paul Civic Opera House in 1872,  until it was destroyed by a fire in 1899. Then the commencement exercises were held in the People's Church, followed by the St. Paul Auditorium.

 

By 1879, the teaching staff had increased to 8 teachers and a principal. The hours were from 9 to 12 in the morning and 1 to 4 in the afternoon. A 15 minute recess was offered in the morning or afternoon.

 

That year, the Lindeke building at 7th and Jackson was finally determined to be ill-suited for a high school. The first floor of the building was occupied by a dry goods store and a fresh fish market. In  warm weather, the aroma from the fish market rising to the 2nd floor was nearly unbearable. To make matters worse, the building was infested with rats. A sign over one door reminded the pupils this was their "last chance for an education."

 

In the School Board's annual report of 1879, it declared that although the school was a pleasing view on the outside, the atmosphere inside was "morally, socially and physically unhealthy". The rooms were noisy, ill-ventilated and sunless. This report aroused the city council to take action, and a bond-raising proposition for a new high school was made. This proposition was rejected by the voters, but it was re-made in 1881 and was passed by 3,000 votes. Work on a new high school was begun immediately. The site chosen was located at 10th and Minnesota Street.

 

In 1883, this 27-room building at 10th and Minnesota Streets was completed The first enrollment of the new school was a total of 233 students.

 

In 1888, a 14-room annex was added for laboratories, but there was no money for an astronomical observatory. The Debate society decided to put on plays to make up the money to pay for it. Soon, Central was known as the only high school in the United States to have a fixed telescope with a lense ground and polished by the great telescope maker Alvan Clark (1804-1887), whose company built some of the largest and best telescopes in the world, including the telescope for the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona. 

 

The name of the school was changed from "St. Paul High School" to "Central High School" in 1888.

 

Mechanics Arts High School, then known as Manual Training High School, was first housed in the basement of Central.

 

After the new high school at Marshall and Lexington was built, this building became the site of the "new" Madison Elementary School (replacing the old one), operating from 1912-1929.

 

             

                 3rd CHS, 1883/1888 - Central High School, 10th and Minnesota Streets

                 (later becoming the new site of Madison Elementary School).

                                                     1888 version shown.

 

Soon the building on 10th and Minnesota Street became too small, and the corner of Marshall and Lexington Avenues was chosen as the new site.

 

Marshall/Lexington  building:

Working name:    West End High School

Proposed name:   Lexington High School

Final name:      Central High School

Architect:       Clarence H Johnston, Sr. - prominent St. Paul

                 architect, studied architecture in St. Paul

                 as well as MIT, and the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris,

                 travelled Europe and Asia. Also designed houses for

                 Summit Ave, buildings for the University of Minn, many

                 others.

Architectural Artist:  JC Trott  (employed by the architect)

Style:           Collegiate Gothic

Land purchased:  1909

Designed:        1909-1910

Building Permit Issued:  May 31, 1910

Builder:         C. Ash Company

Construction started:   1910

Ready for occupancy:    1911  (old school dropped from City Directory)

Cornerstone laid:       April, 1912 (building completed)

Flagpole installed:     1914

New gymnasium:          1924

Stadium:                1943

Cost for 1909-1943:     $650,000 (not counting maintenance, heating,

                        etc)

 

 

    

                             Architect's drawing of proposed school at Marshall and Lexington

 

 

 

          

                4th CHS, Circa 1912 - St. Paul Central High School,  Marshall and Lexington

 

 

It was at first thought appropriate to rename the school "Lexington", however during the week before the laying of the cornerstone, the alumni prevailed upon the Board to keep the name "Central". Around this time, the Minuteman was adopted as the school's logo, based on the name of the colonial militia of the 1770's, who fought the first battle of independence of the American Colonies at Lexington, Massachusetts - apparently as a compromise with those who wished the school to be named "Lexington"..

 

The school at Marshall and Lexington cost about $650,000 to build. The property was acquired for $40,000 (1909 and 1938), and was built for $450,000, with additions costing  $110,000 (1924) and $50,000 (stadium, 1943)..

 

The original building was designed for 1,500 students, and was expanded in 1924 to accomodate a larger student population. The expansion consisted of a new gymnasium attached to the west side of the school, next to the parking lot and public tennis courts. One of the doorways to the new gym said "Girls" carved in stone above the entrance, as can be seen  in a 1925 Central yearbook. The old gym was located above the auditorium