Harwood School

Harwood School View all images of Harwood School

a.k.a. First Ave School

a.k.a. Center Township School No. 11

Quick Timeline

1909	built
1922	2nd story is added to school
c1937	new annex built for rising attendance

Location

Architecture

History

Comments

acquired by evsc in 1950s when area of city was annexed subsumed Harwood School opened its doors to 40-75students from Center Township for the first time. When Harwood opened first opened it was a two room brick building. The area around Harwood was not within the Evansville city limits. It was a rural area surrounded by wheat fields and hog farms with very few houses. What is known as First Avenue was an old gravel road. Between the years of 1921 and 1922 the first story was enlarged for two more classrooms and a second story was added. The second floor was used as a gymnasium and auditorium. By the early 1930s there were about 290 students. After the 1937 flood people started to move to the area around Harwood because it was higher ground. This increased the number of students to 392. The addition of an unattached building called the Harwood Annex was built for the increasing number of students. It held six more rooms and a cafeteria in the basement. Early in the morning of March 17, 1945 a tornado came through and tore off parts of the gym. That area presently houses the auditorium. The 1950s were a time of change for the Harwood community. The school was integrated in 1954 despite the protests of some parents and community members. In 1958, Harwoood joined the Evansville School System and stopped being Center Township School, number 12 (11 per sanborn). In 1960-62, the original Harwood building was torn down. The new building included eleven classrooms, a kindergarten room, a library, an office area and a cafeteria. The former cafeteria in the Harwood Annex was turned into a music room and a nurses office. The gymnasium was remodeled in 1963 adding larger shower rooms and a storage area. A new parking lot was located beside the gymnasium. School enrollement had increased during this time to approximately 740 students. Five years later, four classrooms were added to the north wing. In early 1980s, they changed the look of the first grade wing. At the south of the school they built a new gym. The old gym was transformed into the auditorium we have today. Massive renovations took place in 1991-1992. This remodeling included carpeting, new lighting fixtures, ceilings and the interior was painted. The offfice and conference areas were enlarged to provide adequate working space for administrators, secretaries and their equipment. New lockers with built-in locks were installed during this time. Because its numerous addition spread out in many directions, Harwood was referred to as "finger" school. The Harwood name was taken from the Harwood Station, a small nearby building located on Allens Lane. According to Evansville historian, Kenneth McCutchan, there was a Harwood familly in the city but whether or not their is a connection between their familyl name and the station is uncertain. 1938 additions 1950 1968 1974 first ave school east side of 1st ave 2/3 n of colorado ave <1910 >1922 not in 1940 harwood? torn down jan 1962 for remodel removed old building (built 1909, expanded 1922)

See also

Research notes

^{+ Show research notes}