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Central High School Bell.

The first brick school built in Niles was the Union High School, later named Central High School. Construction began in 1870 and it opened in May 1871, with six teachers, including the principal.

It was built at Mill Street(now East State Street) and Church Street. It was a red brick building with three stories and a basement, and cost $37,980.00.

A new McKinley High School was opened in 1914 at the corner of Church Street and Arlington.

However, the Central High building was in continuous use until the mid 1920s providing extra classrooms. After a fire broke out in two of the classrooms, it was declared unsafe and demolished.

Postcard of the Central Park fountain, wading pool, and band pavillion on the site of the former Central School.

In 1976, the structures of this park were demolished in the Downtown Urban Renewal Project.

The new Central Park apartments now occupy this space and provides homes for the elderly.

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Graduation photograph of Frank Carl E. Robbins. He was the first to graduate from Niles Central High School in 1875.

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This photograph was taken in 1876 of the graduates of Niles Central School.

L-R: Elmer Wilson, A.J. Bentley,
and Thomas Robbins.

April 4, 1917
Class of 1917 Seniors Plan Fine Memorial

It has become customary in recent years for the graduating class of the Niles High School to leave in the school grounds some memorial of their activities. The Senior Class of this year is undertaking a task of which has been long considered and discussed by members of the alumni. They appealed to the members of the Board of Education for their sanction of the project, which was accorded the class members.

It is their desire to move the old bronze bell from the Central High School Building to the new building (Ed. Niles High School on Church Street) and erect a suitable base for it upon the school grounds. The bell is one of the oldest and best bells in this section of the country. It is cast from bronze and weighs 1,400 pounds. The names of the first members of the Board of Education were cast in the bell. The clapper has been lost for some time, but the preservation of the bell is a matter of sentiment with the alumni who graduated from the old building. It is the only real relic of the structure that can be preserved as a memorial of the old Central High School.

It will readily be seen that the task is quite an undertaking and before the work is actually launched, a committee will investigate the probable expense of the project. If it seems plausible to undertake, the work of removing the bell and erecting a handsome and suitable base will begin in the near future.

The Old Central School bell was located on the front lawn of the new McKinley High School on Church Street. PO2.480

A new McKinley High School was under construction in 1914 on Church Street between Arlington and Chestnut Streets. It housed grades 1-12 and had an outdoor playhouse which provided play and exercise areas during inclement weather.

The McKinley High School was renamed Edison Junior High School in 1958 and converted for grades 7-8-9, while the new Niles McKinley High School, built in 1957 on Trumbull Drive, housed grades 10-12. New elementary schools: Lincoln, Jackson, and Bonham were built to accomodate the increased elementary student population.

A second image of McKinley High School.
ca 1936

The Niles McKinley High School
opened in the Fall of 1957.

The 1959 Senior Class Project, under the sponsorship of Miss Anna Compana, had the bell moved from the old McKinley High School to a pedestal in front of the new Niles McKinley High School.Their project also included the construction of concrete benches and sidewalks leading to the pedestal.

The Old Central School bell was located in front of Niles McKinley High School from 1959-2013.

The new Niles McKinley High School
on Dragon Drive was built in 2013.

The Old Central School bell at the new Niles McKinley High School on Dragon Drive.

Detail of the Central School bell with
school board members in 1871 listed.