History of Crestwood Schools

The first documented school in this community began in 1806 when students were taught in the log house of Judge Amzsi Atwater. For many years, log houses in various parts of Mantua Township served as school houses.

The first frame school was built on Mennonite Road. The first school at the "Station", as Mantua Village was formerly called, was a log house located across the street from the present location of Bank One.

The next school was a frame building, which was built on the present site of Sontag’s service station. Land and materials were donated by men of the village at a total cost of $317.17. This building was later moved to the opposite corner of High Street where it presently serves as a family dwelling. It is the first house past the present Mantua Laundromat.

In 1867 a new structure was built for school purposes. Aldeda Booth, later a well-known professor at Hiram College, taught in this school. This building presently serves as the Town Hall.

The Town Hall building was outgrown and a new site was purchased in 1893. This site is the present location of the Mantua Village School. The building erected in 1893 was replaced in 1929 by the present facility.

In 1948 the schools in this vicinity joined the state-wide consolidation program. For many years there were also high schools at Mantua Center and Shalersville, but in 1948 Mantua Center joined with the Village as did Shalersville two years later, Making the new school district known as Mantua-Shalersville Local Schools.

The buildings at Mantua Center and Shalersville were then used as grade schools. The Mantua Center School was built in 1914. Before that time, the Methodist Church, Town Hall, and Auditorium served as schools.

The building at Shalersville was comstructed in 1939 with an addition being completed in 1950. This replaced a frame building built in 1906 and razed in 1950. In earlier times Shalersville High School was known as "The Academy".

In June 1955, the Board of Education voted to change the name of the district to Crestwood Local School District.

The new Crestwood High School was constructed in 1955-56 and was occupied by the upper four grades on September 17, 1956.

The new Crestwood Upper Elementary School was constructed in 1958 with the aid of a $215,000 grant from the state. The school was occupied in January 1959 and provided room for sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students. Large shop facilities were also added at that time.

In 1960 an addition to the Upper Elementary School was completed to provide for larger enrollments in the fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth grades. The first four grades attended school at Mantua Center, Shalersville, and Mantua Village.

Included in the 1960 addition was a covered hallway between the elementary and high school buildings. A much needed band room with an equipment storage room and office facilities for the Board of Education and central office administration were also incorporated into this addition.

In November 1963 the Crestwood voters passed a $620,000 bond issue to finance construction of an eight room addition to the Shalersville Elementary School, multi-purpose room to the Mantua Center Elemantary School, and a new elementary building. The Shalersville and Mantua Center building additions were ready for occupancy in the fall of 1964. The new elementary building was occupied in 1965.

In 1964 the school budget exceeded the million dollar figure for the first time. The teaching staff also numbered well over one hundred.

In April 1964 the Crestwood High School was inspected and approved for membership in the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools.

On June 30, 1964 the Hiram School District was consolidated with the Crestwood Local School District. This addition expanded the district to seventy-five square miles and created a pupil enrollment in excess of two thousand seven hundred students.

Due to the need for office space, the Board of Education was forced to relocate in the maintenance garage behind the Mantua Village Elementary School. Here the school board set up temporary offices. The Local Superintendent’s office was moved to the high school building and has subsequently moved to the present Prospect Street location.

The school system started into a work-study program who qualified under the Diversified Cooperative Training Program directed by the State Department of Education during the 1964-65 school year.

The Crestwood West Elementary building was completed in time for the 1965-66 school year at a cost of $13.13 per square foot. A track was completed and the Crestwood Booster Club installed lights on the athletic field.

In the spring of 1966 a remedial reading center and program was initiated with federal funding from the Elementary and Secondary Education Act P.L. 89-10 Title I.

During the 1966-67 school year the Business Office Education program, apart of the State Vocational Education program was added to replace the Distributive Education program.

In 1970 the Crestwood West Elementary building became the Crestwood Middle School housing grades 5 through 8. The Upper Elementary building was eventually incorporated into the high school facility.

In the fall of 1971 the Memorial Field House was completed and presented to the Board of Education by the citizens of the Crestwood School District under the leadership of the Crestwood Athletic Boosters.

In 1975 Crestwood became a participating district in the vocational program at Maplewood Joint Vocational School. Juniors first attended in the 1975-76 school year and since that time both juniors and seniors have had access to the Maplewood facility.

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© Copyright 2000 Chris Nestor, Last Update: 23 January 2002