Welcome
to the Old Eben School Web Page. This page is to commemorate the history of the
old school building that served the Rock River and Limestone Township
communities (and later Mathias) for many years. The old school building
sat where the Superior Central Media Center now stands as part of the Superior
Central School District.
Here is a little history of the construction of
the old building:
The cost to cover construction of the three story building and of the nearby
Chatham school was $20,000. The bond issue was passed in the school district by
a vote of 49 to 15 in June of 1914.
Construction of the Eben school began soon after with bids going to George
Leiphart of Munising for the overall construction, and to Oscar Robertson (with
the lowest bid of $20) to clear the land of the school site. Thomas Hallstrom
was stone mason foreman on the Eben school, and the cornerstone was laid June
10, 1915.
The school finally opened before Christmas in 1916. A heated controversy broke
out between the two towns of Chatham and Eben because they both wanted the high
school in their own village. The matter was put to a vote and in a close
election, 77 voted in favor of changing the high school from Chatham to Eben,
with 72 going against that. And from then on, the entire Rock River Township
school system gradually consolidated onto the site now known as Superior Central
Schools.
From 1915 to 1991, it existed as a high school. Today, it is only a memory.
This web site will celebrate the old Eben school
in various other web pages.
Please check
them out below:
The demolition of the
old school was a big thing not only within the Superior Central School
District, but also around the central Upper Peninsula. Here is a front page
article about the demolition of the Old Eben School:
The Mining Journal's Old Eben School Demolition Article
Life went on
after the school was demolished and with it, rose a brand new school. On this
page is a dedication ceremony speech given by Mr. Kim Peterson, school board
president at the time, on the opening of the new school, and a bit about the
rivalry between the Eben and Trenary school districts:
The New School Dedication
The Old Eben School has since been demolished and in its place rose a
beautiful one story high school and library structure. The new building is
over ten years old now, yet locals who have moved away from the area before
construction began on the new building probably have never seen what the
school looks like today. For those that haven't, please check out our
Superior Central School Picture Page:
The Superior
Central School Picture Gallery
Probably
the most exciting part of the Old Eben School Page is seeing all of the
pictures I have compiled of the venerable structure. Some date as far back as
1953! Also as an added bonus, I have pictures of the Veteran's Memorial Gym,
which is still standing at the current school, and it's front side before the
elementary wing was added. So check them out:
The Old Eben
School Picture Gallery
Here is the
newest and coolest page on the Old Eben School website. I have compiled some
pictures from the demolition of the old building that took place during the
summer of 1991. These pictures are originally from a video source, so the
quality might not be as good as an actual photo, but it's still a great source
for those people who never got the chance to see the demolition of the old
building take place:
The
Old Eben School on Demolition Day
Superior
Central Schools now has its own website. You can find a variety of
information on the school, including pictures of various interior parts of the
building. Check out the web site below.
Superior Central Schools
On-line