116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
Wilson Junior High: ‘An excellent investment’
Cedar Rapids built 4 new junior highs between 1920 and 1925
President Woodrow Wilson was in Paris in 1919 when the Cedar Rapids school board completed plans to build four new junior high schools for grades 7, 8 and 9 in the Cedar Rapids Independent School District.
Superintendent Arthur C. Deamer was credited for his efforts to get the schools built.
At the time, the Cedar Rapids schools were crowded. The school board was looking for an economical solution by expanding the old Washington High School, which was downtown next to what is now Greene Square, and converting Grant High School on the west side to an elementary school.
Deamer instead lobbied to build four new junior highs, a new concept. The board came around. In January 1920, Cedar Rapids voters approved a $1.5 million bond issue -- or about $28 million in today’s dollars -- to build the schools.
McKinley Junior High in southeast Cedar Rapids and Roosevelt Junior High in northwest Cedar Rapids were completed in September 1922. Franklin Junior High in northeast Cedar Rapids was completed in January 1924.
Construction of Wilson, the last junior high to be built, was started in 1924 at 2301 J St. SW. Its cornerstone ceremony was part of Armistice Day, Nov. 11, celebrations.
Wilson, The Gazette reported, “will mark the beginning of the final chapter of the great junior high school building program, undertaken at a large outlay of time and money, but which already has begun to be justified in the added advantages to children of the public schools.”
“And it will signify to the folk of the Van Buren district the materialization of a dream, for the children in that section of the city have waited long and patiently for the day when they would have a junior high school of their own.”
Before Wilson was completed, the architect who designed all four schools, Herbert B. Rugh, died.
“All of the drawings except the details for the heating plant in the basement were finished by Mr. Rugh before his death,” the board said, “and as soon as the final drawing is made, bids will be under way.”
‘Most beautiful’
The Gazette introduced the new school to Cedar Rapids on Aug. 29, 1925.
“Everyone agrees now that the site of this new school is the most beautiful in the city. … Both Roosevelt and McKinley schools are four stories; the Benjamin Franklin, three stories; and the Woodrow Wilson is of two stories.
“It is considered by the board of education and superintendent to be the last word in school buildings, and minor mistakes, which became evident after the other three junior high schools were opened, were eliminated in the Woodrow Wilson.
“The building cost $340,000 and the site $30,000. The board feels it is an excellent investment.”
The documents sealed in the new school’s cornerstone included school plans, a list of those invited to the cornerstone laying, directories of the Cedar Rapids public schools and a copy of the letter from Edith Bolling Wilson, President Wilson’s widow.
Mrs. H.W. Stocker, the president of the Van Buren Elementary PTA, had written Mrs. Wilson about the new school being named for her husband.
Mrs. Wilson wrote back, saying she was “deeply gratified” by the honor.
“So many years of Mr. Wilson’s life were devoted to educational work, and he was always so interested in the young people of the country, it seems peculiarly fitting that your city has chosen a school to bear his name and commemorate his work,” she wrote.
Czech students
Wilson opened its doors for students Sept. 8, 1925, with Jennie E. Post as its principal. The dedication was delayed Dec. 4, in the midst of a blinding snowstorm. Despite the weather, the school’s auditorium was packed.
William Neill, president of the school board, presented the key to the school to Superintendent Deamer, who gave it to Principal Post. Souvenir booklets, printed by the Roosevelt Junior High printing class, were given to those at the dedication.
The majority of Wilson’s students were of Czech descent. The students, along with the local Junior Red Cross, decided to exchange their “Wilson Quill” newsletter with junior high students in Czechoslovakia.
High schools added
The old Washington and Grant high schools continued to age. In 1934, they were considered inadequate for educating students. Classrooms and facilities were added to the four junior highs so they could accommodate students in grades 7 through 12.
On a very cold Jan. 21, 1935, Wilson opened its new annex and became the first six-year school in the city. The senior high school students didn’t show up until the next day, though, since they had been busy packing up materials at Grant to move to Wilson.
Once everyone had moved in, Wilson had 451 junior high students and 341 senior high students.
When the remaining 660 high school students at Grant transferred to Roosevelt in March 1935, Grant closed its doors.
The high school students at the old Washington High School soon moved into the McKinley and Franklin buildings, and on Nov. 9, 1935, open houses were held at all four buildings.
New high schools
The four schools reverted to junior highs when the new Jefferson and Washington highs schools opened to students in 10th through 12th grades -- Washington on Sept. 3, 1957, and Jefferson on April 7, 1958.
With the transition, Wilson needed renovation, with Principal Pierre Tracy adding a larger room for music, bringing offices of administrators closer together, and separating classrooms from noisier areas.
In 1987, the Cedar Rapids school system changed to middle schools -- for sixth- through eighth-graders -- and four-year high schools.
Wilson was at the front of technology.
“With 30 computer stations and a state-of-the-art video branch instructional control system, Wilson Middle School has become the district’s foremost high-tech keyboarding center,” The Gazette reported.
Wilson also joined Taft in becoming a combined middle and elementary school. In March 2012, it returned to being a middle school.
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