Addisonian School

This is Claude Leroy McMillan (1885 -1946), Sue’s grandfather. The photo was taken in the 1930s when Ashland (Ohio) was both a farming and manufacturing center (e.g., rubber products, Myers Pumps). Claude apparently was a very ambitious man in the face of the depression. While living in Ashland in the early 1930s, he concurrently was a farmer, teacher and college student. He farmed 68 acres on a hill to the north overlooking Ashland. He also was the teacher at the one-room Addisonian School House, located about 100 yards from the end of his farm's lane. Plus, he was pursuing a bachelor’s degree in town at Ashland College, which he earned in 1932. Having a bachelor’s degree was unusual at that time, especially for teachers who typically had only a two-year normal school education. Prior to moving to Ashland, Claude had been superintendent of schools in Holmes County, Ohio.

The photo below may be of the last students to attend the Addisonian School. It is dated 1938 and so may have been taken during the 1938-39 school year. The Addisonian School closed in 1939, when nearby Montogmery Grade School opened.

The Addisonian School still stands on the hill side. Today it is part of a lumber saw mill. The next two generations of the family includes five teachers, including Sue and our daughter. Sue’s brother Leroy, his wife and their descendants farm the surrounding hill and bottom land - the Addisonian Hill Farms. The last photo, of Leroy relaxing at the end of a long day, is a favorite of mine.