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Garrison School Alumni Reunion
Submitted Photo A homecoming of Garrison and Chillicothe High School graduates will be held July 31-Aug. 2 at the Grand River Inn, 606 West Old Highway 36. Garrison School began in the mid-1800s as a school devoted to training African-American boys and girls. It grew from a small one-room building and a single teacher to its present. The first school was located in the Mt. Zion Baptist Church (established in 1854) and was a pay school taught by the pastor. Emerging from the Civil War, the opinions differed concerning a school for African-American children. The first free school, or public school, was at the site of the Chillicothe Iron Works (Frank Way Foundry). William Miller, a white man, became the first teacher in the negro public school. Henry C. Madison of Illinois, became the first African-American teacher in Chillicothe. The place for holding school changed first to Locust Street, then to Waples. In 1888 a school was built on the present site of Garrison School, 209 Henry Street. Joe E. Herriford, a native of Chillicothe, had attended Iowa State College, Ames, Iowa, and became principal there. He gave the school its name after William Lloyd Garrison, an American abolitionist who lived from 1805 to 1887. The present school building was erected in 1953 at a cost of $95,000. The school’s name was changed from Garrison to Dabney after the 1954 Brown vs. the Board of Education ended segregation in the nation’s public schools. But, in 1987, the name Garrison was restored by the approval of the Chillicothe R-2 School Board of Education, coinciding with the first-ever Garrison Reunion held in September 1987. The first commencement for Garrison School was held in 1892 at the old Opera House on May 26. Members of that first class were: Anna May Sawyer, Henry Herriford, Louis T. Winfrey, and Fred U. Anderson. The last senior class to graduate was on May 18, 1955 and included: Peola Maxine Allen, Bessie Louise Palmer, Ruthie Wiley Simmons. Members of the last faculty were: R.E. Houston, public schools superintendent; Mrs. Ella January, primary; Jasper Simmons, intermediate; Mrs. Eileen Price Sholls; high school, and Mr. John White, principal. African-American students attended the Chillicothe High School for the first time in the 1955-56 school year. In the 1958-59 school year, Garrison closed its doors as one of the last rural all-black public schools in this area. The first-ever reunion was held Sept. 4-6, 1987 and drew more than 200 persons to events held throughout the week. For more information, www.mychillicothemo.com. |
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The first Garrison School building was built at the school’s current location at 209 Henry Street in 1888. The school’s history dates back to the mid-1800s and was devoted to training African-American boys and girls. A homecoming of Garrison and Chillicothe High School graduates will be July 31 through Aug. 2 in Chillicothe.