Central Grade School

From Lane Co Oregon

The Central Grade School, located at Eleventh Avenue West and Olive Street, was the location for Eugene’s first high school classes in 1897-1898. The high school section of it started with one teacher and 75 students and held ninth-grade classes in the Superintendent of Public Schools office.

The next year their number increased so that they rented Mounts Hall, which was over a business house on the corner of Ninth and Oak. It had a better opportunity for good work except that both (ninth- and tenth-grade?) classes had to recite their lessons in the same room around two long tables.

In 1902 it was remodeled and became the first school building used for high school purposes. It was used until 1904 when Eugene High School moved into a new brick building, its first real high school on the corner of Eleventh and Willamette. This building had 14 recitation rooms, an assembly room to accommodate 300, a library, and offices, giving a much better opportunity for good work. Later, the Central School was moved to another location on the west side, used for a few years, and then razed.