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The people of Ishpeming have always desired
a quality education for their children. In
1868, before Ishpeming was incorporated as a
village in 1869 and a city four years later,
a charter to form a school district was
granted. The meeting to organize the school
district was called by Julius Ropes who
started the Ropes Gold Mine north of town.
The first school house in the district was
built at the Cleveland Mine. It was a single
story frame building which was closed in
1870, with a new school being erected on
Ready Street at a cost of $2,000. This
school also closed and now serves as a
Masonic Temple.
A second school was built on the corner of Main and
Division Streets containing three classrooms
to accommodate the Lake Superior Mine and
Barnum Mine locations. It was closed when
the Division Street School was constructed
on the present high school site. Another
school was located at the Nelson Mine
Location which was in the area now known as
Wabash Heights. This building was moved to
the Junction Location in 1896. The Junction
School was closed in 1943 due to falling
enrollments in the area and the advent of
bus transportation.
The Division Street School, a large three story brick
building, was constructed in 1874 where the
present high school now stands, at a cost of
$38,000. It was poorly constructed and not
well-planned, being heated with coal stoves
in each room. An interesting note was that
the teachers went out on strike in 1879,
refusing to continue carrying hods of coal
from the basement to their rooms. It would
be 110 years later, 1989, when the teachers
would walk out in the only work refusal in
the 20th century. In 1880, a hot air heating
system was installed, but during cold winter
days children had to be sent home. In May, a
new heating system was installed. The school
was demolished in 1908 to make room for a
new high school.
The old Salisbury School, a two-room structure, was
built in 1881 at a cost of $2,000 for the
building and site. This school was replaced
by a six room building in 1890 at a cost of
$13,000. It was closed in 1949. A three room
school was constructed on the corner of
Ridge and Lake Streets in 1891. This proved
to be inadequate to the needs of the
locality and a second story, consisting of
five rooms, was added the next year,
completing the very neat and attractive
Ridge Street School. This school was closed
in 1962 and is now utilized as an apartment
building.
The High Street School, or the first high school, was a
beautiful structure of brick with sandstone
trim and a slate roof. A substantial iron
fence surrounded the landscaped grounds. The
total cost was $23,445 when completed in
1886. This school was later demolished to
make room for the C.L. Phelps Middle School.
The Grammar School, the then new high
school, was dedicated in 1896. The total
cost of this superb building, with its
landmark clock tower, was $24,580. William
G. Mather, President of Cleveland Cliffs
Iron Co., purchased the equipment for the
Manual Arts Department which was located in
the basement of the new building.
The Manual Arts Building, the west wing of the present
high school, was erected in 1900. It was
described as the first and best appointed
building entirely devoted to industrial arts
in the State of Michigan. Charles M. Schwab,
President of Carnegie Steel Co., donated
$1,000 for equipment. He made this comment,
“It is a fine place for young gentlemen who
will be taught to use their hands and heads
within its walls.”
The old high school building on Division Street, that
most of the older residents remember, was
built in 1908 and was destroyed by fire on
August 25, 1930. During the 1930-31 school
year the entire town served as campus for
the student body. Makeshift classrooms were
set up in community lodges, halls, and
vacant business space. By September of 1931,
the student body was welcomed back to the
present high school. Razing of the old and
erection of the new, magnificent high school
had been completed in one year a at a cost
of $330,000.
This completed the building of schools by a group of
dedicated men elected to the Board of
Education in those pioneer days of
Ishpeming. Many of the names are very
prominent in our early history as being
leaders in business and industry.
Ishpeming was a very fast growing community in the late
1800’s. By 1900 the population was about
13,000, or nearly twice as large as it is
today. One realizes why schools were being
built so rapidly when one looks at school
enrollments. In 1868, there were 307 pupils.
In 1875 it had increased to 1300 and to 2790
by 1897. In contrast, the total enrollment
in 1984 was only 1339. While the total
enrollment was large in those days, less
than 5% entered high school and less than 2%
of graduates entered college. From 1884 to
1893, the largest graduating class contained
eight pupils, with no graduates recorded for
1885 and 1902 school years. Teachers today
would be horrified to learn that grade
school instructors had an average of 56
pupils in their rooms in 1896. High school
teachers had a few less in each class.
Sports played an important part in the lies of students
and the whole community. Our school teams
played not only other high schools, but
teams from the colleges in Marquette and
Houghton and adult city teams. One Lower
Michigan reporter said that our boys tackled
hardwood trees all winter and summer in
logging camps and came back to play football
in the fall. His team lost by a big score in
a game played for the championship of
Michigan.
Another era in the history of our schools
started when C.L. Phelps was hired as
superintendent of schools in 1915. He had a
tremendous impact on the educations in
Ishpeming during his twenty-seven year
tenure. His ancestors were farmers in
southern Illinois, but he wanted no part of
that. He worked his way through Dartmouth
College earning Phi Beta Kappa honors on his
way. One of his main goals in education was
to have instructors teach all children how
to read, write, and cipher to the best of
their abilities. Attesting to his success in
this endeavor are the grand achievements of
thousands of IHS students recorded in all
walks of life. He was a strong believer in a
diversified education by stressing
industrial arts, music, forensics, arts, and
sports. His love of sports led to the
building of one gymnasium in 1923. At that
time it was one of the finest athletic
facilities in the state. Mr. Phelps retired
in 1942 and Ogden Johnson very ably
continued the idea that every student
deserved a quality education.
Two new schools were built in the1950’s. The Birchview
Elementary School was dedicated in 1958. It
contained eight classrooms, a multipurpose
room, kitchen, and cafeteria. A new facility
for special students was also provided. An
addition to the school was constructed in
1971 to accommodate an influx of students to
the area created by mining expansion. The
C.L. Phelps Middle School was dedicated in
1959. In addition to the formal classrooms,
the school had facilities for home
economics, industrial arts, music, art, a
large multipurpose room, and a large kitchen
and cafeteria.
1985-86 would see the High School/Central School
complex receive all new doors and windows,
along with other heat conservation measures,
a cost just exceeding one-half million
dollars. The highly successful 1984 IHS
Centennial Yearbook and Reunion proved to be
a catalyst for physical change in the
district. The Centennial Celebration profits
of approximately $20,000 would provide the
seed money for a $300,000 renovation of the
beautiful auditorium which would soon after
be named for long serving teacher and
administrator, W.C. Peterson. This
auditorium renovation would be financed
almost in total by alumni and friends. The
project also benefited from many hours of
volunteer labor. The community continued the
push to bring our educational facilities up
to standards in 1995 by passing a 15 year
millage levy that finances physical and
technological improvements in the district
and generates approximately $140,000 per
year. The most recent commitment made by our
community was the 1997 bond issue that
generated $4.3 million and allowed the
district to bring the 70 year old facility
up to standards, correct some long standing
deficiencies, construct a new gymnasium, and
enhance the beauty of this historic complex.
Modern Art and Music rooms would also be
created in the new Technology and Fine Arts
wing (old Manual Training Building.)
Keeping pace with the Technological Revolution is the
continuing task of the school district.
Classrooms, from preschool to high school,
find this technology available. The
Technology and Fine Arts wing now boast a
Computer Assisted Design (CAD) Lab and
computer driven machinery in the Woods and
Machine Shops. The challenge lying ahead for
our school district is to allow our future
leaders to effectively compete in this
fast-moving revolution. Schools of Choice
legislation has dictated that a “business as
usual” approach is no longer acceptable.
Accepting and retaining students is and will
be the challenge of schools throughout
Michigan. Modern and attractive facilities,
a current, comprehensive curriculum, a
dedicated staff, and scholarship incentives
to higher education all play a part in this
most challenging educational period.
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