Pioneer History by Richard C. Schmal & Mary Ruiz
1896 Main Street School Revisited
(from the September 1, 2009, Lowell Tribune, page 5)- Considering all of the articles that have been written about the old school in the last weeks, we decided to correct some errors. One article reported that the big bell was stolen years ago. It was sold by a former owner, Ed Zunica, after he had first decided in the late 70's to donate it to the Three Creeks Historical Association. Several members helped him take it down from the decayed belfry. The bell sat on a lower level for several years until the owner changed his mind and sold the bell.
During the erection of the building, the following composed the School Board: W.L. Handley, president; E.R. Bacon, treasurer; and George Waters, secretary. William Sheets was one of the early superintendents. Being very smart businessmen, they would not have bought used bricks and paid to have them brought all the way from Chicago. Instead they bought the bricks from the local Clark Brothers Brick Yard (run by Perry Clark, the son of Jabez Clark), which was only a few blocks away. Clark also made bricks for the masonry buildings in downtown Lowell after the 1898 fire.
The rumor about the bricks coming from Chicago may have come from a later tale circa 1914 when St. Edwards brick school was being constructed. Clark was out of business and brick were shipped from Chicago to North Hayden on the NY Central RR, and the farmer parishioners hauled them to the Burnham Street location now occupied by Lowell Healthcare. There's an old story told of a farmer who was loading his wagon at North Hayden when he learned his church was burning. He drove his wagon in to town on the dirt road and arrived with very little left of the wagon or his load of bricks.
It was also reported the time capsule was missing. The following story tells about the opening of the cornerstone and the removal of the "time capsule." The contents were on display for many years at the Halsted House Museum and will be again soon, as the display case was recently repaired.
The following is a reprint of a 1986 column regarding the opening of the Cornerstone:
The 1896 Lowell High School
On Aug. 1, 1896, a large crowd of Lowell area residents gathered to witness the laying of the cornerstone of the first Lowell High School building. Many of the participants were members of the pioneer families of Lowell. Edward P. Ames of Colfax Masonic Lodge 378 of Lowell was appointed deputy grand master for the occasion, assisted by officers and members from Crown Point, Hebron, Hobart and Merrillville. Joseph Clark, the first master of the Colfax Lodge, was also serving as master in 1896.Over fifty articles were proudly placed in a copper box and sealed within the granite stone during the ceremony.
Nearly ninety years later, on Jan. 18, 1986, this fine stone was carefully opened by the owner of the Main St. building, Edward Zunica. Richard Schmal, historian of the Three Creeks Historical Assn., was invited to attend as an observer.
Sadly, the two men looked upon the remnants of those articles so carefully sealed within the stone years ago. Many of the documents were heavy with moisture and decay, and some were only crumbled piles of brown paper. The well-sealed stone had somehow drawn moisture through the years.
The sadness turned to joy when some of the articles were found to be in fair condition, and able to be restored. Two newspapers, a Lowell Tribune of July 24, 1896, and a Crown Point Register, dated July 30, 1896, are still legible.
Also found was an 1881 one-cent coin with "Louis Berg, P.M. 1896" engraved on one side. Berg was the Lowell postmaster at the time.
There was a business plate engraved "E.J. Pixley, Jeweler." None of the business cards were saved, however.
Among several coins was a Columbian half-dollar, minted during the Chicago World's Fair of 1893. A metal match safe was in fair condition. One interesting item was the vial of black pills placed inside by George Waters, druggist. There was a bit of paper with the vial which read "Jaynes Sanative Pills," a laxative and cureall. Waters was the builder of the present Colfax Lodge building, and had his drug store there earlier before it was lost in the big fire of 1898. A lapel button placed by Will Nichols, a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, survived the years intact.
A very important manuscript was found, wrapped carefully with a colored ribbon, in a very delicate condition. This 17-page document is a history of Lowell from its beginning to 1896, composed by Lowell Tribune newspaperman H.H. Ragon. Proper care was given these pages; they were enlarged on a modern copier and are now legible for the most part. The manuscript is being prepared for publication soon.
The last decade of the 1800's was apparently an era when the citizens of Lowell banded together to form clubs and organizations, for many of the rosters which had deteriorated in the copper box were for groups founded in the 1890's. Many of those rosters, however, were also included in Ragon's story. Some of the rosters destroyed were from the Colfax Lodge Knights of Columbia, Fleur De Lis Temple Pythian, Odd Fellows, K of P, Grand Army of the Republic, Cedar Creek Trustees, and the Monon Time Table. The time table is also shown in one of the restored newspapers.
Also decayed was a program from the First Annual Commencement of Cedar Creek Township District Schools, a Duplicate School Bond, the H.H. Purdy Family Record, a Chicago World's Fair ticket from 1893, a note from the H. Dickinson Family, an application for Lake County Farmers Mutual Ins. Co., a builders contract for the. old schoolhouse, cards from the Jacob Baughman Family, and a muster out roll from J.A. Clark.
Two former campaign buttons for the McKinley presidential election were only rusted circles of metal when unearthed. A public display of the items is being planned for the month of April at the Lowell Public Library.
The following is a tidbit extracted from the story by Ragon: "In the year 1836, four persons built cabins within the present limits of Lowell. Of these early settlers who had no thought of a town being built hear (sp) at that time, all so far as we have any knowledge have passed to the great beyond, but Mr. Nichols, who little dreamed that he should, sixty years later, be present at the laying of the cornerstone of such a magnificent structure dedicated to the uses of education."
The 1896 building, used for both a high school and grade school, was completed at a cost of $14,000, and was first occupied in November 30, 1896. During the erection of the building, the following composed the School Board: W.L. Handley, president; E.R. Bacon, treasurer; and George Waters, secretary. William Sheets was one of the early superintendents, D.A. Norris served a principal, and Luella Fuller was the assistant principal. Among the early teachers were Winifred Deathe, Anna Sheets, Clifford Wiley and Elizabeth Grant.
The old school, remodeled over the years, has survived without its original steeple over the bell tower. Now privately owned, it has been used by antique dealers for more than a decade.
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