The Olive Branch School Preservation Society has been awarded a grant from the William G. Pomeroy Foundation for a roadside marker commemorating Olive Branch High School‘s inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places, the official list of the Nation’s historic places worthy of preservation.
The new National Register marker will be unveiled at 11:30AM on October 19, 2019 as part of an Open House which will be held from 11AM-1PM at Olive Branch school.
Located at 9710 W. National Road (US Route 40) near New Carlisle, Ohio, Olive Branch School stands as a good representation of a rural turn-of-the-century high school. Built in 1908 and reconstructed in 1913, following a devastating fire, this Craftsman style structure was progressive for its time. Designed by noted Dayton, Ohio architect Charles Insco Williams, the building was used as a schoolhouse until the 1970s and still maintains its 1914 appearance. It is currently being used as a district warehouse and storage center and is the only remaining “historic” building on the Tecumseh campus. The high school was placed on the National Register in 2009.
The Olive Branch School has also appeared on Preservation Ohio’s List of Ohio’s Most Endangered Historic Sites. “We’re thrilled that this important part of Ohio’s educational history has received a new lease on life. It will hopefully serve as a reminder to all that history is vital part of a great education,” said Thomas Palmer, Executive Director of Preservation Ohio.
“The Olive Branch School Preservation Society is grateful to the William G. Pomeroy Foundation for their generous support in helping OBSPS to bring alive the history of Olive Branch High School,” a press release reads.
The new marker, funded by the Pomeroy Foundation, serves to commemorate this significant history. The Pomeroy Foundation is a private, grant-making foundation based in Syracuse, N.Y., which helps people to celebrate their community’s history through a variety of historic signage grant programs, including the National Register Signage Grant Program. The Foundation’s grants cover the entire cost of a marker, pole and shipping. The Pomeroy Foundation has funded more than 235 National Register markers and plaques.
About the Olive Branch School Preservation Society
The mission of the Olive Branch School Preservation Society is to promote and fund the preservation of Olive Branch School and local history, and to further the legacy of cooperation between the schools and community through public engagement.
About the Pomeroy Foundation
The William G. Pomeroy Foundation is a private, grant-making foundation established in 2005. The Foundation is committed to supporting the celebration and preservation of community history; and to raising awareness, supporting research and improving the quality of care for patients and their families who are facing a blood cancer diagnosis. Since 2006, the Foundation has funded more than 900 historic roadside markers and plaques in 12 states. Grants cover the cost of a marker, pole and shipping. Visit:www.wgpfoundation.org
