Abandoned High School in Ohio
Roseville High School, Roseville Ohio
Roseville was platted in 1813 by Ezekiel Rose who named the village New Milford. When the post office was established in 1830, the name was changed to honor the village's founder. Various buildings have served the educational needs of Roseville over the years. Roseville High School was built in 1914 by Zanesville contractors and witnessed a period of exciting growth in the village. During the time that the high school was in use, Roseville became internationally known as a producer of art pottery, although today the village's fortunes have somewhat declined. During the first half of the twentieth century, the high school provided education for many of the pottery workers and for their children. The high school stands as a typical example of early twentieth-century educational architecture, with local touches added by the application of some decorative brick and stonework. In planning the high school, five local men were selected to be the planning committee; Samuel Laughlin, William Maddox, Homer Patch, R.S. Smith, and John Keslar. The building was of the greatest educational significance to the village for more than fifty years. After the completion of a new high school in the 1930s, the old high school was used as an elementary building until 1970, when it was abandoned during school district consolidation. The present owners have formed a non-profit corporation with village-wide support to seek funding to adapt the building for use as a daycare and community center.
Building Description
This 1914 school building is located at the northeast corner of North Perry and Stokeley Streets in the village of Roseville, in Muskingum County. The school's front side (south) features three bays, with the center bay recessed approximately ten feet. In this center bay is located the main entrance to the building. Access to the school is gained at three points in this bay; through three doors set together in the center of the bay, and through two other doors set to either side of the main doors, at a level slightly above that of the three-door set. These offset doors are reached by sets of stairways set perpendicular to the bay itself. The school is basically an H-shaped building, built of ironspot brick, resting on a foundation of brick with a beveled stone water table. Set into the foundation of the east and west bays, between the ground and the water table, are basement windows, double hung, three-over-three. The recessed center bay is highlighted by several window combinations, including three double-hung second-floor windows, two-over-two, recessed into the bay itself. There is stone trim evident at various points on the building. Among the school's most outstanding features is subdued decorative stone and brickwork applied especially to slightly inset portions of the facades of the east and west bays. The east and west sides of the school are divided into three bays. The north and south of these bays feature basement windows, with the first and second floors of these bays exhibiting four windows at each of the classrooms, double hung, six-over-six, set flush with one another. The center bay of the east and west sides are extended about fifteen feet to accommodate fire escapes from all levels. These bays boast their own slightly hipped roofs, and have inwardly-flared sides. Three windows are placed horizontally on the ends of these projecting bays. The water table and stone trim extend along the walls of these end bays. The rear of the school consists of generally the same bay patterns as does the front, however, there is no entrance or exit on this side. The northwest bay features a one-story, semi-hexagonal projection housing the school's stage area. This projection extends through the basement and to just above the ceiling level of the first floor. The entire school building is capped with a handsome truncated hip roof covered with locally-produced red tile. Four pierced chimneys rise from the deck of the roof; the frame of a bell tower also remains set near the center of the roof between the chimneys.
The interior of Roseville High School is generally unaltered from the original. The plan includes four rooms on each floor, with limited gymnasium facilities in the basement, Each room has ample closet space. The school's office area is located in the central portion of the first floor. One non-weight-bearing wall has been added on the first floor. All of the original oak flooring remains. Some inconspicuous alterations have been made in the interest of safety, including fireproof stairways. There is a crawl space above the second floor. Some of the blackboards and electrical fixtures were removed when the school was abandoned.
View from southeast showing flared side bay (1977)
