Benton High School

MONGER, AVITT, RICHARDS, WILSON, HERRINGTON, GRAHAM, BLUNCK, SICKELS, LILIENTHAL

Posted By: Sharon R Becker (email)
Date: 5/18/2012 at 04:55:12

Mount Ayr Record-News
Mount Ayr, Ringgold County, Iowa
Friday, May 26, 1916

PROPOSED NEW SCHOOL BUILDING AT BENTON

The cut shown herewith is a perspective view of the Benton public school building to be erected at Benton, in case the bond election to be voted on June 2d, is successful.

The board of education spent considerable time and effort investigating various school buildings, and after due consideration decided to employ Trunk & Gordon, architects, of St. Joseph, Mo., who, co-opearting with the board, worked out the general arrangement, size and requirements of the building, which will fulfill the requriements of the district for years to come.

The building, which will be practically three stories in height, will have general dimensions of 40 feet in width and 75 feet in length, with a projecting wing in front 12 feet x 30 feet, in which is provided the stairways, toilet rooms, superintendent's office, etc.

The win in rear provides for stage, dressing rooms, boiler and fuel room. The main entrance to teh building in front opens to a stair landing which leads up to the first floor and down to the basement or ground floor.

On this floor is provided a gymnasium-auditorium 27x50 feet with a 14-foot ceiling and in addition has a balcony ten feet in width, the full length of the auditorium. This room is further provided with stage and dressing rooms.

Show bath rooms are also provided for both boys and girls.

At the right of the entrance are the domestic science and manual traning rooms, all of which are thoroughly well lighted.

The boiler room is in the rear, accessible both from the gymnasium and from the outside.

Large space for storage of fuel is provided under the stage.

The first floor which is reached from braod well-lighted stairways to corridor and has three regulation class rooms with cloak rooms and book cases, and opening to either side of main corridor on this floor is also provided toilet room each for the boys and girls.

The second floor will containa regulation class room, a large study hall for the high school, a recitation room and laboratory, office for superintendent and cloak room. All class rooms are thoroughly lighted from one side of the room only.

The building will be constructed of best material throughout. The cooridors and stairs and partitions around same being fireproof, while the balance will be of wood floor joist construction.

The interior will have sanitary metal door frames and particular care will be exercised in the finishing of the building to eliminate all unnecessary wood trim and finish in order to reduce up-keep expense and make the appearance neat and sanitary.

The exterior will be faced with a good bitrified brick and cut stone and will have a flat type composition roof.

Sanitary ventilated plumbing fixtures will be provided and a gasoline pumping outfit to take water supply from well will be used to furnish the water for toilet fixtures and sanitary drinking fountains on each floor.

The building will be heated by a vapor steam heating system and ventilated with gravity ventilation whereby a continuous supply of fresh air fromthe autside (sic) will enter each room and the vituated air will be removed by means of ducts terminating in ventilators above the roof.

The building will also be wired in conduit for the future installation of electric light fixtures.

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NOTICE OF SCHOOL SPECIAL ELECTION, BENTON, IOWA.

Public notice is hereby given, that a special election of the Independent school district of Benton, in the county of Ringgold, state of Iowa, will be held on the 2nd day of June, 1916, at the council room in the town of Benton, within said independent school district, from one o'clock p.m. until seven o'clock p.m. and that at said election there will be submitted to the voters of said independent school district, to be by them voted upon, the following proposition:

Shall the Independent School District of Benton, in the county of Ringgold, state of Iowa, issue bonds in the sum of twenty thousand dollars ($20,000) for the purpose of constructing and equipping a school house?

At which time and place all the voters of said Independent School District are hereby notified to appear.

This notice is given by order of the Board of Directors of said Independent school district in pursuant to a sufficent petition with the requisite signatures in accordance with sections 2820-d 1 et deq. of the Supplement to the Code of Iowa, 1913.

Dated at Benton, Iowa, this 3rd day of May, 1916.

W. S. MONGER, Secretary Board of Directors.
F-20-4t

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NOTICE TO CONTRACTORS

Notice is hereby given that sealed proposals for the erection of a high school building for the independent school district of Benton in the county of Ringgold, state of Iowa, will be received by the undersigned at his office in Benton (where plans and specifictions may be seen after June 5th, 1916; also, at the office of the architects, Trunk & Gordon, St. Joseph, Mo.) until June 16th, 1916, two o'clock p.m. at which time bids will be opened and the contract awarded to the lowest responsible bidder according to the terms and conditions of the plans and specifications.

The board reserves the right to reject any and all bids, or accept any bid.

All applications for plans and specifications must be accompanied by a certified check for $15.00 for general construction and $10.00 for plumbing and heating.

Applicants for plans and specifications must also furnish references as to responsibility, etc., and must state length of time plans are required.

To have the use of plans for one week:

Deposits will be returned in full if contractor returns plans and specificiation in good condition within seven days after leaving office; otherwise [remainder of notice clipped off].

Submission by Mike Avitt, May of 2012

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Mount Ayr Record News
Mount Ayr, Ringgold County, Iowa
Thursday, May 10, 2012

Snapshots of History

By Mike Avitt

Photo of the Benton High School building taken from Benton's 1951-1952 yearbook, The Bentonian
Thanks to the good folks at the Waubonsie Center in Benton for the picture of the Benton High School. They have nearly every edition of The Bentonian from the 1940s and 1950s. Thanks, also, to Kelly Richards for loaning me a May 26, 1916 issue of the Mount Ayr Record-News which contains an article on the proposed new school building at Benton.

Plans for the new school called for two stories on a half-submerged basement. The building was to be 40 feet wide and 75 feet in length with a wing in front measuring 12 feet by 30 feet. The gymnasium/auditorium would be 27 by 50 feet with a ceiling 14 feet high. Shower bathrooms would complete the gymnasium.

A gasoline-powered pump would provide well water for the toilets, showers and drinking fountains.

Benton did not have electricity in 1916 but the school came equipped with electrical conduits for the future installation of electric light fixtures. The new building would be heated with steam, having a boiler room in the basement.

A bond election held June 2, 1916 resulted in the construction of the proposed school. The Benton Centennial Book says the last graduating class, that being in 1958, consisted of Anna WILSON, Daisey WILSON, Mary Ann HERRINGTON, Shirley GRAHAM, and Larry BLUNCK.

I was working for Larry SICKELS in 1982 when we tore the building down. Larry ran a thick, steel cable through the windows and doors and pulled the school down with his bulldozer.

After the building came down, Rich LILIENTHAL salvaged the steel beams with a cutting torch.

I don't recall that I did very much. I'm sure Larry can back me up on that.

PHOTOGRAPH: Mount Ayr Record-News
Friday, May 26, 1916

Ringgold Documents maintained by Tony Mercer.
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