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The City of Whitehall, Ohio, is located in Truro Township in Franklin County in
the center of its eastern border. Truro was settled in 1805, later to be
organized and named in 1810. The name Truro came from one of the original
settlers in the township, the Taylor family. The Taylor family migrated from
the Truro Township in Nova Scotia. Much of the area in and around the township
was marked for refugees from Nova Scotia. Later, the unclaimed areas were
granted to veterans of the War of 1812.
The first school in the township was in a log cabin on the east bank of the Big
Walnut Creek, just south of where Livingston Road crosses it. Today, Livingston
Avenue crosses the Big Walnut a short distance north of where Livingston Road
reportedly crossed it. This would place the cabin on the other side of the
creek from the southern border of Walnut Ridge High School.
The first teacher in the school was a man known as Mr. McAfferty (no first name
could be found). He started teaching classes in 1820. Before this time,
children of Truro Township would have had to go to a school on Alum Creek, in
Montgomery Township.
Truro Township was essentially a rural area consisting mainly of farmland. By
1925, Truro had eight one-room schoolhouses around the township forming the
school district. Most of the one-room schoolhouses had a classroom size of
about thirty students. The city of Reynoldsburg had already established its own
school district at that time.
The population of the area was gradually growing. The Columbus Depot was
established in 1918. Norton Airfield was established in 1925. As the area grew,
the population of Columbus began moving out to Truro Township. The school
district soon realized it would have to build new schools to handle the
increasing number of students. In addition, laws were being passed making
attendance in school mandatory.
The school district established a bond issue to pay for the building of three
new schools. One of the largest advantages of these new schools would be
multiple classrooms. Thus, students of different ages could be separated and
taught at their appropriate grade levels.
The smallest of the three new schools was Courtright Avenue School. The school
was located on Courtright Avenue, one mile south of Livingston Avenue. The
school started out as a four-room school. Later, a gymnasium and other
classrooms were added. The school is still standing today. After Whitehall
became a city, the school was transferred to the Columbus School District who
later sold the building.
In the northern part of the school district, the East Broad Street school was
built. It was located on East Broad Street one quarter of a mile west of
Yearling Road. Since the population was higher in this area, the school was
equipped with eight classrooms. Once again, the gymnasium and other classrooms
were added at a later date. The school was sold in 1968 and later demolished so
apartments could be built.
A third new school was the White Hall School which later became known as East
Main Street School. This building was located on East Main Street (the National
Road) three quarters of a mile west of Yearling Road. It was built next to one
of the aforementioned one-room schoolhouses. After it was built the old
one-room schoolhouse was torn down. Like the East Broad Street School, this
school had eight classrooms.
The reason the school was called the White Hall School, instead of the East
Main Street School, was because of the building that was almost directly across
the street from the school. Tthe white building with the widow’s wall porch on
the front was the White Hall Tavern. This establishment was a stage coach stop
along the National Road. It was also the original farmhouse for the White Hall
farm and was built in 1806. Later, it became known as “ Ye Olde White Hall
Inn”, a motor lodging establishment along Route 40. As most of the
establishments in the area at that time had “White Hall” in their name, the
school was named “White Hall School”. However, the Village of Whitehall would
not be established for another two decades.
After many additions to the White Hall School (or East Main Street School), the
school looks as it does below. The school is still standing today but is no
longer a public school.
The three new schools only taught children in the first through the eighth
grades. This was because the area was still mainly rural. The students were
needed to work on the farms, so, for the most part, they did not continue their
educations past eighth grade. Those who were fortunate enough to be able to
continue their education went to Bexley High School. Some years later, Bexley
High School became too crowded. The students then had to go to Reynoldsburg or
South High Schools.
Whitehall became a village in 1947 and was designated a city in 1950. The name
Whitehall again came from the “ White Hall Tavern” which was a landmark in the
area. The city founders decided to make the name all one word instead of
dividing it. With the incorporation of the city, the Whitehall School District
was formally established.
In 1954, Whitehall-Yearling High School admitted it first students. Work on the
school was still going on while classes were in session. Classrooms were filled
as they were completed. The graduating class of 1959, was the first class that
was able to receive all twelve years of schooling in Whitehall.
Whitehall-Yearling High School quickly distinguished itself in many areas. The
1960 Whitehall-Yearling High School Band is shown below. The fine arts
continues to be one of the outstanding programs of the Whitehall City Schools.
By the 1968, Whitehall School District had built the last of its current
schools. Robinwood School replaced the East Broad Street School. The Whitehall
School System had five elementary schools (Beechwood, Etna Road, Kay Avenue,
Robinwood, and East Main Street); one Junior High School (Rosemore); and one
High School (Whitehall Yearling). Currently three of the elementary schools are
in use (Beechwood, Etna Road, and Kay Avenue). In 1966, a bond issue was
established to build the Eastland Vocational Center which actually opened in
1968. Fourteen school districts were offered the opportunity to help establish
this Vocational Center. Only five districts (Canal Winchester, Gahanna,
Groveport, Reynoldsburg, and Whitehall) decided to participate in the project
at that time. Groveport donated forty acres for the building. In the early
years of the vocational center, the acreage at the back of the center was used
by the students in the Future Farmers of America (FFA) or leased out to local
farmers. Today, all of the original fourteen school districts are members of
what is now called the Eastland/Fairfield Career and Technical Centers along
with many other districts.
Many thanks go to Mr. Willard Brenning, one of the first Board of Education
Members for the Whitehall City Schools; Whitehall School Superintendent, Judyth
Dobbert-Meloy and her staff; the members of the Whitehall Historical Society
and Photo-Graphics for their efforts to preserve the history of the Whitehall
City Schools. Other sources used for the history section of this directory
include: “History of Franklin County Ohio,” Vol. 1 and 3, Opha Moore,
Historical Publishing Co, Indianapolis, 1930; and “History of Franklin and
Pickaway Counties, Ohio,” Williams Brothers, 1880. |
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