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On the evening of December 14, 1930, Elkton residents were jolted by cries that the schoolhouse was on fire. As the village siren blared, telephone lines lit up with urgent calls spreading the news. Fueled by the building’s old wooden floors, walls, and ceilings, flames quickly consumed the structure. Witnesses reported seeing the Elkton school fire leap high into the night sky, visible from miles away.
Too Little Too Late
According to accounts from The Elktonian, the high school’s literature class publication, townspeople rushed to the scene, but the fire had already gained too much ground. Even with assistance from Pigeon’s fire engine, efforts to save the building were futile. Those gathered could do little but watch as the place where so many children had spent their school days was reduced to rubble. As the flames took their toll, a final somber moment arrived when the school’s old bell, which had signaled the start of classes for 28 years, collapsed with a resounding thud. All the school records in the school’s record vault were also lost to the flames.
By morning, the once-sturdy two-story brick schoolhouse was a pile of ash and debris. The Elkton Board of Education, led by President Dr. H.J. Fox and members H.C. Wales, G.W. Ackerman, M.L. Ackerman, and George A. Wilson, quickly took charge of the situation. Superintendent Ivan Kurrle and faculty members Earl S. Eidt, Mildred D. Simons, Annamarie Garlanger, Edith McIllmurray, Beatrice Madison, Beatrice Maxwell, and Catherine Protzman worked together to ensure students could continue their education despite the devastating loss.
School is Moved to New Quarters
Temporary classrooms were arranged throughout Elkton. The high school relocated to the Waggoner Store building (the former site of Bud’s Bar), while the elementary students attended classes in the basement of the Evangelical Church. This church later became known as the Elkton United Methodist Church.
Despite the tragedy, the community pushed forward. A few months later, in March 1931, construction on a new school building began. The first structure completed was the gymnasium, which would also serve as an auditorium. Though unfinished, it was used to host that year’s graduation ceremony. The 1931 graduating class included Maurice L. Faupel, Orville H. Snider, Edna Heck, Virginia Schultz, Herbert Eicher, Margaret Fox, Roy Ramseyer, Hazel Smrcina, Raymond Gascho, Dorothy M. Baker, Joe Bennett, Iris Boese, Edward F. Mellendorf, Lois Armstrong, and Clarence Fitchett. Among them, Orville H. Snider would later return to Elkton as a teacher, coach, and high school principal.
School is Out
By the fall of 1931, the new school was fully operational. At the time, it was hailed as the finest school building in Huron County. The high school remained in use until 1960 when Elkton, Pigeon, and Bay Port schools consolidated.
The school lost to the fire had stood since 1903 when Elkton added an eleventh-grade class. 1907 the twelfth grade was introduced, making it an entire high school. By 1925, it had earned accreditation from the University of Michigan.
What began as a devastating loss ultimately became a heartwarming story to Elkton’s resilience and commitment to education. In less than a year, a new school rose from the ashes, ensuring students had a place to learn for decades.
