HOWARD HIGH SCHOOL NASHVILLE, TENN. 1940-1969
Not many know that Howard School had a rich history before the construction and opening of the New High School on Second Ave. in the fall of 1940.
Howard School started out as only a vacant lot in old South Nashville. A well-to-do lawyer by the name of M. H. Howard had a parcel of land when the city limits only extended out to just past Broad Street. The rest of the south part of the city with its more seedy neighborhood between it and downtown, "Black Bottom, "incorporated itself in 1850 into the City of South Nashville.
Due to the distance required to travel downtown and through one of the worst parts of town to obtain fruits and vegetables, Mr. Howard opened a Farmer's Market at the corner of Lea Street and College Street (Third Ave. So.) between College Street and Market Street (Second Ave.) This market used the lot for almost five years.
In 1855, the main city voted to annex the incorporated South Nashville district into the main city limits. The City of South Nashville had gotten very deep into debt because they had built the first public elementary school called Trimble School and hired teachers, a small police force and had tried to pave roads. They were more than glad to accept the annexation.
As the Farmer's Market in South Nashville waned due to better roads and new police force, Mr. Howard donated the market lot to the main city of Nashville in 1859.
South Nashville was the location of Nashville's most respected universities, medical schools, hospitals and clinics. The neighborhood consisted of many teachers, doctors, lawyers, and merchants. This group wanted a higher education institution besides the Trimble Elementary School out on Chestnut Street.
After the Civil War, even more of these educated people moved into Nashville and built homes in the South Nashville area. A new school project was approved in the early1890's and the City allocated the site at the old market lot they owned.
The first Elementary-Junior School was approved and built on the donated M.H. Howard lot in the 1890's.
Students attended the school, later to be named Howard School, or went to the private academies such as Montgomery Bell Academy located near the University of Nashville campus on Second Ave. After graduation, they went on to one of the private schools or to the City's public high school, Hume Fogg, in the downtown area.
In 1939, engineers found major structual problems with the old school and the upper floors had to be closed. A proposal to build a new High School and Elementary was presented. The City had aquired the land that was the location of the old University of Nashville when the University closed. The City elected to build the new school on the old university campus. The design called for both an elementary and an adjoining high school, and due to the two schools being in one building, the school became Howard School rather than Howard High School.
The architect elected to design the school based on the new name, Howard. He intentionally designed the two schools in the form of the letter, "H."
The school bell from the tower of the old howard school on Second Ave. and Lea Street was lost during the demolition and removal of the tower and upper floors. The bell was later found by the father one of the Howard Achool alumni who had it returned and personally installed it on the front of the new campus. The original location of the bell was to the right of the front gate and was later relocated to its present location in front of the school building. The following information was supplied by Bobbie Ann (Hamilton) Mooney.
"My name at the time of the placement of the bell was Bobbie Ann Hamilton, and it was in 1952 sometime in the spring. My paternal grandmother had attended Old Howard School and was still alive at that time. My father, who didn't go to Howard at all, had located the bell at Steiner-Liff by accident. When he told my grandmother he had found and bought it, she requested that he install it at the "new" school. He requested and received permission to put it on campus, and I was standing there when he brought the bell, and along with my uncle and one of my father's employees, built the stand and installed the bell. My father was Charles R. (Preacher) Hamilton, who you may have known, since he was, at that time widely known by almost everyone in South Nashville. He owned and operated Hamilton Garage, about a mile from the old city limits on Lebanon Rd."
The first graduating class was the class of 1941. The first school newspaper was called "The Southern Cross" and later changed to "The Rebelier" Many may remember two teachers at Howard School who had actually taught in the old Howard School building before its demolition. One was Mrs. Mary Keaton. She was called, "Miss Mary." The other was Mrs. Pearl Jones who taught third grade, and was called "Miss Pearl." The first classes were very small in numbers, and during the war years most of the boys left school to enlist rather than be drafted. The last class was in 1969. A few years later, the city decided to use the building for some of the city offices. The high school portion was renovated and the auditorium floor was leveled and housed the title division of the county court clerks office. The rear portion, or elementary wing, was never renovated although many offices occupied the old rooms.
Sadly, the city decided they needed the land space, and started demolition of the rear portion of the school in 2008.
Hopefully, the city will not decide eventually to demolish even the front portion of the cherished structure.
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