Genealogy of a Local Landmark and a Brief History of Centerville City Schools

by Joellen Ulliman (May 2024)

To appreciate the 100-year-old Magsig building, we need to understand its ancestry. Let’s start before the concept of this building was conceived . . .

During Ohio’s infancy, the population was primarily farmers. After the American Revolution, in 1783, England turned the Northwest Territory (Ohio) over to the United States. In 1785, the Continental Congress mandated this land be surveyed and divided into ranges, then townships, and finally subdivided into 1-mile square sections. The dimensions for division were extremely specific. Additionally, each township was to use one section for funding schools and hiring teachers.

Early settlers wanted their children learn to read, write, and cipher numbers. These academics helped people function in society. Beyond that, education was a luxury. Children needed skills to be successful farmers. Since no regulations were established as to how long a child needed to attend school, parents decided when it was time to work on the farm.  

Washington Township had 9 sections—which meant 9 schoolhouses for grades 1-8. In 1796, when our first families settled here, building homes and farms were priorities. Churches and schools were crucial too. Schools were first built as log cabins and were eventually replaced with brick schoolhouses. 

Later, the state mandated high schools be built for older students pursuing further education. Ohio was shifting from agricultural to town-oriented. In 1886, Washington Township built its first high school at 101 W. Franklin.

By 1923-24, the school district consolidated all grades into one freshly constructed building at 192 W. Franklin, the new Washington Township School. Approximately 300 students in grades 1-12 were educated that year. The schoolhouses and high school were sold.

Always resilient, the school district evolved.  With an ever-growing population and changing cultural needs, the building was altered and utilized as needed.

For instance, a kindergarten was added in 1934. During 1948 and 1951, wings were added to the original structure.

In 1955, a south building was built behind the existing one. Grades 9-12 were placed there. The junior high remained in the original building. Today that south building serves as W.O. Cline Elementary School.

Starting in 1956, elementary schools for grades 1-5 were built in the community. They were built in the following order:

1. Dr. John Hole Elementary School (1956) (Margaret Delaney was the school's first Principal.)
2. Ida E. Weller Elementary School (1959)
3. C.L. Stingley Elementary School (1962)
4. W.A. Driscoll Elementary School (1962)
5. Normandy Elementary School (1964) 
6. Village South Elementary School (1970) (This school closed in 1982 but was remodeled and reopened at Centerville Kindergarten Village in 1991)

In 1962, an auditorium was built over the gymnasium of the junior high building. Classrooms for industrial arts, music, and a gym were added to the south side of the west wing.

In 1963, the building became a junior high for grades 7-9; it was renamed Magsig Junior High, honoring former school board member Clarence William Magsig who was extremely supportive of the school system and instrumental in collecting funding during the rapid growth of the district in the 1940’s. Then, new buildings were built for grades 6-9 in the following order:

1. Hithergreen Middle School (1966)
2. Tower Heights Middle School (1967)
3. Hadley E. Watts Middle School (1969)

In 1973, the current high school was built on E. Franklin. The Magsig building had a new purpose: storage. In 1977, it re-opened as Magsig Middle School for grades 6-8.

The newest school building, Primary Village South, opened in 2007 serving the youngest pre-kindergarten through first-grade students. At the same time, the Centerville Kindergarten Village was renamed Primary Village North. 

Happy 100^th birthday, Magsig Middle School!  Your treasured existence gives homage to our always flexible and resourceful school district.