County of corner stone:Benton County
Location of stone: 200 Tulsa St., Southside Elementary School lawn, Siloam Springs
The WPA project high school was demolished in 1994 to make way for the elementary school in the background.
This memorial made from the bricks of the old school also contain the names of the students who attended the old school. The names are stamped on the top brick of each in each row.. These are not purchased memorial bricks, but part of the memorial itself.
A good view of the old school and associated buildings can be seen in this old You Tube video by Kevin Riley
He writes: "This video clip is of the old high school and junior high building in Siloam Springs, Arkansas. It was taken in 1993 before the building was demolished. Unfortunately, the building was locked and no shots of the inside could be taken. Please forgive the amateur video. It was taken with an old VHS hand-held camera and inept operator"
"This is what most of us who graduated from the Jefferson Street High School refer to as the "old high school" on Tulsa Street. Constructed with gray limestone rock blocks, this was built by the WPA, herafter known as the "WPA Building."
"Who or what was the WPA? The Works Projects Administration (WPA) was part of the ambitious American New Deal agency begun by President Roosevelt (FDR) during the Great Depression. It was created in 1933 to employ millions of unemployed people (mostly unskilled) to carry out public works projects, including public buildings and roads. Almost every community in the U.S. had a new park, bridge, or school constructed by the agency. At it's peak in 1938, it provided paid jobs for three million unemployed men and women.??
"The first class to graduate from the WPA High School was 1940. There was an engraved brick just to the right, outside of the main entrance, that gives the date of 1940 (see photo to right). The building was officially dedicated on September 4, 1941, just three-months before the United States became officially involved in the WWII conflict.
"On March 31 and April 1, 1993, the old gray block WPA High School on Tulsa Street was demolished in order for Southside Elementary School to be expanded. Many former students and parents wanted the WPA building to be redesigned, remodeled, and updated. But the gym was too small, and an elevator would've had to be installed for the handicapped students. After getting bids and advice from architects, engineers, and building contractors, it was determined the cost would be much greater than just building a new school.
"Eradicating a structure that had so many fond memories for so many ended up being a very long and difficult decision for the Siloam Springs School Board and the entire community. On Thursday, January 28, 1993, the Northwest Arkansas Times ran an editorial entitled, "Good Community Makes a Good School," that detailed this process. Click HERE to download that article. [Ed.Note: article was a photo of the news story, see in photo gallery]
"A monument (four photos above) with the cement block encased showing when the structure was built (1940), and the names of the first graduating class (also 1940), was erected on the lawn between Tulsa Street and the Southside school. The names of every student who graduated from the gray block WPA building from 1940 to 1963 is written on the red bricks making up the semi-circular memorial. Before they had been engraved on the sidewalk in front of the old school. Only the first graduating class of 1940 was preserved as you can see in one of the photos above.
"In 1993, just ten-days before the WPA building was brought down, Kevin Riley (class of '75) took a video of the old high school, and uploaded it to YouTube. I might upload a portion of the video from the demolition later." ~ Siloam Springs H.S. Class Reunion