SOUTHINGTON - A second Southington school building constructed in the early 1900s will be listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Approval was given in August for placement of the 1907 section of the old Southington schools complex, which was used as an elementary building.
The school joins the historic Chalker Building and the surrounding Civil War markers area on the national list. The new listing changes the complex listing from Chalker High School to Southington Township School.
Article Photos
The 1907 section of the old Southington schools complex was recently added to the National Register of Historic Places as an addition to the listing for the nearby Chalker High School and Civil War marker area. The section served as an elementary school. Photo by Bob Coupland
They are located next to each other along state Route 305, west of the township center at state Route 534.
The remainder of the Southington school buildings were demolished.
Sue Tietz, a Southington resident, submitted the school for inclusion on the list last spring. Tietz, who serves as a national register / inventory manager with the Ohio Historic Preservation office, said the Chalker and 1907 school buildings made up Southington Township Schools.
Tietz said the two buildings were built at about the same time, and both buildings retain their historic integrity.
''This is pretty rare for Trumbull County to have an early 1900s centralized school campus still standing and for it to be included on a national register. Both buildings are very intact to what they were over 100 years ago,'' she said.
Tom Wolf, communications director with the Ohio Historic Preservation Office of the Ohio Historical Society in Columbus, said last spring that six proposed nominations were presented to the advisory board.
Wolf said that the two Southington buildings illustrate the local response to a major change in rural education that took place statewide in the early 20th century, from teaching children in one-room schoolhouses scattered throughout the township, to holding classes in a single, central location.
The elementary school was not a part of the original Chalker High School National Register nomination because of later alterations to the building that were removed with demolition of the newer sections.
The process for the approval for inclusion on the register involved a recommendation amendment by the board and approval by the Keeper of the National Register.
"We are very excited that it has been included on the register,'' Tietz said.
She said the local Southington Community Trust, of which she is a member, plans to raise money to place a marker on the property stating the historical significance of the buildings and property.
Township trustees have acquired the building and nearby property from the school district. They plan to use it for storage of township and fire department records and materials.
The 17-member Ohio Historic Preservation board is appointed by the governor to advise the Ohio Historical Society and the state on historic preservation matters. It includes professionals in history, architecture, archaeology and other historic preservation related disciplines, as well as citizens.
The board meets three times a year to consider proposed Ohio nominations to the National Register of Historic Places and conduct other business.
The National Register lists places that should be preserved because of their significance in American history, architecture, archaeology, engineering and culture. It includes buildings, sites, structures, objects and historic districts of national, state and local importance.