November 12,1923: New Southside School

On this day in 1923, the new Southside School opened with 618 students and 16 teachers.

This was the first time in nearly four years that students attended an all-day session of school.  The building was still under construction on this day, so the first graders remained in the old school buildings.

The building was situated on “Windy Hill” at the extreme end of South Main Street, overlooking the city.  It was a one-story structure with fifteen classrooms, a domestic science room,  a lunch room, and an auditorium.  Playrooms were in the basement.  The lunch room was scheduled to open January 1st.

The Southside school was the first of the new city grade schools to be occupied.

Professor W. B. Clinard was the principal of Granville School, and also served as principal of Southside.  His assistant at Southside was Mary Eggleston, who later became principal of Southside, which was renamed South Park School.

A new school sign was donated by the school’s PTA and installed over the front entrance in 1956.