Salem schools of the past
The following are dates of dedication for Salem's schools of the past:
- Oliver School, Broad St. --- 1818
(Named after Gen. Henry K. Oliver)
- Bentley School, Essex St. --- 1861
- Epes Grammar School, Aborn St.
- Cogswell School, School St. --1862 (now condominiums)
- Bowditch School, 35 Flint St. -- 1870
- Pickman School, School St. ---1872 (now condominiums)
- Juniper School, 25 Cheval Ave. ---1923
- Hacker School, Dean St. (now Flint St.) --1785 (renamed Hacker School in 1850)
- Phillips School, 86 Essex St. --1883
(Named after Stephen C. Phillips, former mayor who donated his salary to a school building fund. Building razed in 1983.)
- Pickering School, 181 North St. --1894 (now condominiums)
- Prescott Primary School, Howard St. ---1872
- Classical and High School, Highland Ave. ---1909 (now Collins Middle School)
- Saltonstall School, Lafayette St. --- 1916 (originally on Holly Street, constructed of wood in 1874. It was originally called
the Browne School and later the Holly Street Grammar School.
- St. Joseph School, Lafayette St. --1925 (Razed in 1982)
- Endicott School, Boston St. -- 1930
- Sheridan School, corner Upham & Orne St. (10 Orne St.) -- dedicated Oct. 16, 1930 (now condominiums)
(Named after Lt. Philip B. Sheridan)
- Vocational High School, 5 Broad St. -- 1938-1953
- Vocational High School, Highland Ave. --1953
- Mack Industrial School, 17 Pickman St. --1906 to the late 1920's
- Prior High Schools: Latin Grammar School -- 1637
- English High School, 1827
- Girl's High School - 1845 : Consolidated into Salem High School 1856
- For entry on closed Catholic Schools, see Catholic Schools on this wiki.
Salem Normal School and Salem High School, Broad Street In the early 1900's, there existed a "schoolhouse" row on Broad Street, just west of Summer St. The city's Classical and High School, Oliver School and Salem Normal School sat side by side until 1897, when the Normal School moved to its new location at Loring Avenue and Lafayette Street. The future Salem State University had been a presence on Broad Street since it opened in 1954.
Oliver School, just to its west, was named for Henry Kemble Oliver, educator and former mayor of Salem and Lawrence.
Salem Classical and High School had been formed by merging the Latin and High School, English High School and Girls High School in 1856. The Broad Street building was erected at the time to serve as the main building.
In the early 1900's, Salem had five public grammar schools: Bowditch on Flint Street, Phillips on Washington Square South, Pickering on North Street, Saltonstall on Holly Street and Bentley at 50 Essex Street, near the had of Bentley Street. The original Saltonstall burned in the Salem Fire of 1914 and would be replaced by the current structure on Lafayette Street. A new, larger Bentley School would later be built farther east on Essex St.
Primary schools were sprinkled throughout the city. Browne School on Ropes Street near Lafayette Park was probably named for Samuel Browne or his family. Attached to Browne School was Naumkeag School, which started out in 1869 as a "half-time" school for mostly French-Canadian worker-students at the Naumkeag Mills. The Boston Street area was home to Lincoln School on Fowler Street, A.A. Low Schools on Nichold Street near Gallows Hill and Endicott School on Boston Street.
See Also
- Vertical File in the Salem Collection - Salem Schools (schools of the past folder)
- Postcard image courtesy CardCow.com (State Normal School on corner, High School next bldg.)
- Salem in Vintage Postcards ed. by C. R. Mathias, p. 49-51 (photos of Pickering, Saltonstall, Bowditch, Phillips and (old) Bentley schools)
- Vertical File - Sheridan, Philip B.
- Salem Vocational High School, 5 Broad St. 50th Anniversary Pamphlet
- "Lt. Philip B. Sheridan School Dedicated in Impressive Service"Salem Evening News, Oct. 6 1930, p. 1
- "School days gone by: Phillips School students,faculty hold memory fest" Salem Evening News, June 12, 1998, p. A1
- "Prescott Primary School was named for blind writer" Salem Evening News, Feb. 14, 1929, p.?
- Historical Sketch of Salem by Osgood, p.104-5
- Old Naumkeag by Webber, p.110-1
- Annals of Salem by J. Felt, p.452-463
- "By the book: City's first school began in 1637" Salem Evening News, Sept. 1, 1999, p. A3
