History Happenings: Naming schools

Harrison Elementary School in Cedar Rapids has been much in the news lately. While your humble scribes are not going to weigh in on the controversies surrounding the school — other than to say that we are in favor of both historic preservation and serving students and educators well — we did find ourselves wondering about an adjacent issue.

Who is the school named for? Now, you might be thinking, “Well, it’s named for President Harrison, of course.” Granted. But which one?

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Quick historical review: William Henry Harrison (whose father signed the Declaration of Independence) was the ninth president of the United States. His was a famed “Indian fighter,” with his reputation largely resting on the 1809 Battle of Tippecanoe (which led to the famed campaign slogan “Tippecanoe and Tyler Too!”).

When became president in 1841, he was 68 (the oldest person to have been elected to the presidency at the time). Within a month of taking office, Harrison caught a cold that soon developed into pneumonia. He died on his 32nd day in office. He was the first president to die in office, and his tenure remains the shortest in U.S. history.

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Benjamin Harrison, the grandson of William Henry, was the 23rd president and was in office from 1889 to 1893. Harrison lost the popular vote to Grover Cleveland, but a significant amount of backroom dealing (from which he held himself apart) led to a victory in the Electoral College. In the 1892 rematch between Harrison and Cleveland, Cleveland won.

Which one?

While Benjamin Harrison’s presidency was something of a mixed bag, he seems like the more likely candidate to have a school named for him.

Still, the first school in Cedar Rapids to bear the name Harrison was named for the first President Harrison — in keeping with the school district’s early practice of simply naming schools after the presidents in order of service. That Harrison School, located near K Avenue and Sixth Street West (now the site of The Flamingo Event Center), was destroyed by fire on Jan. 28, 1929.

The current Harrison Elementary School, at 1310 11th St. NW, was dedicated on Nov. 7, 1930, and was named for both Presidents Harrison.

At the time of dedication, the Harrisons and John and John Quincy Adams were the only other presidents who shared a last name. The school district had similarly honored the two Adamses when the Third Ward School, built in 1868, was renamed for the father and son. (A new Adams Elementary was built in 1961 and now houses the Isaac Newton Christian Academy.

Ups and downs

More broadly, the presidential naming scheme has had its ups and downs over the years.

President Warren G. Harding was the sitting president when a Cedar Rapids school was first named for him. The eruption of the Teapot Dome scandal made that naming decision unpopular, and the school was renamed Benjamin Franklin School before construction was complete.

Having not completely learned its lesson — and having eventually named a school for Harding — the district named a new school for a sitting president again in 1970. Despite the Watergate scandal and efforts to change the name of the school, Nixon Elementary School remains part of the district today.

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The history of deciding not to name schools after presidents in Cedar Rapids is quite interesting and one we may very write about in the future.

For example, John Fitzpatrick, who worked in the fine arts for the Cedar Rapids school district, wrote a guest column in the June 19, 1999, Gazette suggesting a new elementary school be named for Abbie S. Abbott, an impressive educator who worked with students for 44 years, from 1886 to 1930. Ultimately, the school in question would be named for Viola Gibson, an important civil rights leader in Linn County.

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Jessica Cline is a Leadership & Character Scholar at Wake Forest University. Her dad, Rob Cline, is not a scholar of any kind. They write this monthly column for The History Center. Comments: HistoricalClines@gmail.com