1936 - Building of the New High School

On January 1, 1884 Pen Argyl's first publicly-owned school building, the Lincoln, on Westbrook Avenue was opened. This building was torn down in 1942. (The Lutheran Church is there now.) The Garfield School building was opened on January 9, 1893. This was the high school for the class of 1899. On September 13, 1907, the McKinley School building was dedicated. These first three schools were named in honor of three assassinated presidents of the U.S.
It wasn't until 1936 that a new building was constructed on the mountain. The following pictures of the construction of the "new" high school are from a collection belonging to Virginia Garland. The school is still in use as part of the senior high school and is now called the "Senior High Annex." The dedication programs for this building (the present Junior High or Senior High Annex) took place on April 25, 26, 27, and 28 of 1937. The dedication of the Senior High School took place on May 12, 1963.

For pictures of the men who built the school, click here. These pictures were also loaned to us by Virginia Garland.