By: Bailey S. and Karly P.

Do you realize how old our school is? Hannah Ashton Middle School was built in 1868, it’s amazing it’s still standing!

When the school was first built it had only 2 floors. It was first called Reynoldsburg Union Academy. Students from all around came to Columbus, to go to Reynoldsburg Union Academy; it was for all 12 grades. It soon became just a high school. Now, It’s for grades 5th through 8th.

The school year was scheduled around the harvest seasons. In 1925 the school was remodeled to have a 3rd floor. Since the school was built without a gym, in the 1940’s, a gym was added.

Our school wasn’t just for learning. There was a Chapel Hall in the school that was used for events, but it was still a church. Students prayed every morning before going to class. The flag pole was in a strange place, up on the balcony which we no longer have today. Bleachers where out in the front of the school for events like the annual picnic held at the school, for the 4th of July. Our school was used as a community gathering place.

Since then school has expanded, and the road in front of the school has became wider. There has been a lot of changes to the school like; all the tree’s and bushes that used to be there are gone, the water that students drink is no longer from a well, and the school now has heat instead of coal burning furnaces in the winter. Also, the bell that was once on the top of the school is gone. Now, we have a bell through the speakers.

The Overall major thing that changed was our schools name. In 1982, The schools name was changed to Hannah J Ashton, In honor of her. There have been a lot of changes to our school, yet the history remains the same.

This picture, taken some years later shows the archetectural details along the roofline.  Do you notice that our school only has two floors?  Also look at the windows, they are very different than the shape of the windows that we have now.  Another detail you should note is how long the sidewalk is.  The street wasn’t as close then as it is now.

This picture above is one of the earliest on record.  Notice the belltower on the roof and how short the building seems to what it is today.  There is also a shed off to the side and the land around the school has been cleared of all trees and bushes.

This is a picture of the graduating class in 1920.  Notice the entrance and how the windows are different.  Each classroom had a fireplace that provided the only heat.  There was no cafeteria or indoor plumbing at that time.

Compare the 1920 version of our school above with the remodelled version in 1920 (below).  Check out the stairs at the side of the building.  To go to the second floor, you had to go outside and go up the stairs.

This is a picture of our school in 1929.  The school was remodelled in 1925.  Notice the different roofline, window sizes, length of the building, landscaping and the missing belfrey.  The entire south wing of the school wasn’t built yet.

This picture was taken before any remodelling.  What is important to note about this is the seating in the yard.  The school functioned as the center of the community.  They held town meetings, ceremonies, worship services and community events here .

Notice the difference in landscaping between the 1929 picture and this picture, which was taken in the 1940’s.

This is a picture of the house across the street that was used as the cafeteria at one time.

This is a side view of the house.  Students would go in through the side entrance to go to the cafeteria.

This is the Reynoldsburg Historical Society Museum.  It is right across the street from HAMS.  There are lots of cool things to learn about our school and our  city.  We would like to thank Mr. Mark Myers for his help with the information in this article.