First Mercer School

The first Mercer School (not to be confused with the Mercer Academy) Was built on the corner of Washington and Brooks Street. This would later become the site of the last Charleston High School.  Whereas the Charleston High School took up pretty much the entire corner, Mercer School sat right in the middle, with a large expanse of grass and trees surrounding it.

This image shows the interesting (and fun) way to exit the school in case of fire, which was a huge problem those days.

 

Notice "Central School".  That was the name of Charleston's first High School. Central School would later become Mercer School on Quarrier Street.

By 1924, Charleston High was located on Morris Street.  The leaders discovered too late that the 1st and 2nd Charleston High buildings were much too small. This is why the last Charleston High was much larger and built on the old Mercer School lot at Brooks & Washington. In the meantime, the first Charleston High, called Central High, had been converted into the Central Jr. High. The plan now was to move the Central Jr High to the old Charleston High location on Morris Street.  That name would later be changed to Thomas Jefferson Jr. High.  The kids from the old Mercer School would be moved to the old Central High on Quarrier Street, and that's where they would stay for the next 50 years.  However, there were a few details to be worked out in the meantime, like... where to place the Mercer kids until all the transfers could take place.....

As you can see, it was somewhat a puzzle to move all the kids around after one school was removed. The Mercer kids went to the new Roosevelt Jr High until the puzzle was complete.

It's interesting to note that back in the day, no thought was given to a campus setting. Charleston High used almost every square foot of the old Mercer School and its beautiful grounds. placing Charleston High right up against the sidewalks.  This will be different for Stonewall High.

MERCER SCHOOL HISTORY AND MEMORIES.

This was the Mercer School that I attended on Quarrier Street next to the YWCA.  This started life as Central High School, then Central Jr. High, and finally Mercer Elementry School.

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