The humble one-room schoolhouse is only the simplest of school building types (far left). This layout illustrates the simpler, nineteenth and early twentieth century school types.
The humble one-room schoolhouse is only the simplest of school building types (far left). This layout illustrates the simpler, nineteenth and early twentieth century school types.
An H-plan, 4+4+4 (16) room building from the early twentieth century, with typical classical-derived styling.
A vacant (and hopefuly secured) building in Brier Hill, greater Youngstown, northwestern Ohio.
A typical late ninrteenth-century urban school, probably six or eight rooms with a center stairhall.
This is a reused, renovated building in Columbus (?), central Ohio - I believe the one in German Village (old "South Columbus").
The left wing was the school, which was a separate building. It last had two rooms upstairs, and probably two rroms down. I'm not sure where the stairs were, since they were replaced with the stairwqays in the bridge between this building and the right wing. The limestone plaque in the center of its front was placed in the new social hall, and it reads: "St. Patrick School 1853.(?)"
The right had a church sanctuary (worship space) upstairs complete with a half-domed apse in the rear with two niches for statues and an arched cieling. Below was a large multi-purpose room with a double row of wood piers. Between was a stair hall with a wide steep public stairway rising from the left front, and a narrow steeper service stairway rising from the right rear.
Long live Tara Hall! This served as the social hall for the Dominican's St. Patrick Church in Columbus, central Ohio, until it was demolished in 2001 and replaced by a larger community hall, which was much needed - but will never have the character of the old.
Though it looks to be a cubic, 8-room school, this is the result of an addition to a two-story two-room school that added only four rooms, creating an L-shape.
This is the segregated White school in Bainbridge, south-central Ohio. The simple, small Black school is visible far to its left.
A rear view reveals the true shape. A quarter of the school - or more precisely, 1/6th - was not built, leaving this back niche. The fenestration of the core indicates one room on the right side (as oriented from the front), with a stair hall on the left side.
Note the two-room, boys/girls privy at the back fenceline. I'll bet that big tree in the schoolyard was the site of many activities. It looks like the near side wall is being ropped up from collapsing.
This is a simple, two-story, apparently two-room school, with a side stairhall.
A rear view show the back fenestration. That single window implies that the stair hall is on the on the left side (as oriented from the front) and that it is lighting the top landing, with one room each floor on the right side. The single chimney indicated the location of the interior cross-wall which divides the stairhall from the classrooms.
A well-worn path leads from the front door, around the corner, to the boys/ggirls privy at the back fence.
This is apparently the same plan as the original, core White school above - but the ornament and size is clearly divided by (economic) class. The Whites got a larger building, presumably five bays of windows on the front with decorative arches, slate roof, back door, and other fru-fru's - and then a big addition. The Blacks got a smaller bulding, three bays across the front with plain windows, a standing seam steel roof, and almost no light and no door at the back - and then the privy was located about as far as possible from the only door.
So much for "separate but equal."
