National Register of Historic Places Registration Form

Southington Local School District Campus
Name of Property
Trumbull County
Ohio
County and State
centralized. By the 1912-1913 school term, the northeast agricultural division of Ohio already had 59
centralized school districts; by 1914 there were 80. 27
In practice, the transformation of the educational system in Southington from sub-district one room school
houses to a consolidated centralized location was consistent with development that occurred throughout the
state at about the same time, although the implementation was distinctly different due to the private funding that
paid for the construction of the high school building, the site for the school and subsequent endowment
provided by Chalkier.
Chalker’s unpublished autobiography relates the hardship he endured as a young man to gain higher education
in rural Ohio during the mid nineteenth century and reveals possible motivation for his sense of civic duty and
concern for the education of Southington’s youth. Through his endowment, Chalker also significantly impacted
the continuing development of a system of higher education in this small rural community. He provided not
only the funding to build the first high school, but also the incentive for the community to build an
accompanying elementary building. In addition, his contributions illustrate his commitment to the ideal of
universally available, excellent public education, even in the most rural regions of Ohio.
Typical of the centralized school campuses constructed in rural unincorporated communities in Trumbull
County the high school provided the focal point for recreation and social activities. School yearbooks provide a
snapshot of the organizations for students that promoted civic and literary accomplishments. They included
glee, drama and debate clubs, the marching band, orchestra and math, history and spelling clubs. These groups
provided the opportunity for programs, events and competitions for the students, which were attended by
parents and family members. The addition of a modern gymnasium, part of the 1928-1929 elementary building,
quickly initiated the formation of a basketball team to compliment baseball and track teams already in place.
These activities offered low or no cost, family-oriented recreation to communities with limited local options.
Friendly, but sometimes fierce sporting rivalries developed between townships, resulting in capacity crowds in
the small gymnasiums. In addition to student organizations, parent involved clubs developed. The local Parent-
Teacher Organization (PTA) was active in supporting the local school, assisting teachers in their classrooms
and providing input into curriculum.
As a result of centralization within small, rural communities like Southington, social and recreational
development evolved to center on school-related or sponsored activities. Limited commercial and recreational
development within the community reinforced this trend, as did the central location of the facility.
The buildings constructed at the time of centralization continue to serve in their original capacity, as
educational facilities. The Chalker Building was an outstanding example of a high school building at its
construction and is still recognized as a Trumbull County landmark at the present. With the construction of
many new school facilities in Trumbull County, and resultant demolition, the Chalker High School and
Southington elementary building offers the best preserved rural township centralized school campus in
Trumbull County.
27 State of Ohio School Survey Commission. Report to the Governor of Ohio State School Survey Commission. A Cooperative Field
Study conducted by Horace L. Brittain. An Intesive Study of 659 rural village schools in 88 counties and an extensive study of 9000
school rooms in 395 school systems (The F. J. Heer Printing Co. 1914, Columbus, Ohio), p.289.
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