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The Drum Hill High School was originally a much smaller school. Due to a state law passed in 1904, the school no longer met the state standards due to overcrowding and other issues. Voters decided to build a new school to serve the growing population of Peekskill. The newly expanded Drum Hill School was designed in a handsome Neoclassical Beaux Arts style. The school was shut down in 1972 and is currently the Drum Hill Senior Living Community.

Drum Hill High School.

Drum Hill High School.

Drum Hill High School.

Drum Hill High School.

Original Drum Hill High School.

Original Drum Hill High School.

In the early 1900s the old Drum Hill School located in Peekskill had become too small for its growing student population. Several years later, majority of district voters authorized funds to increase the size of The Drum Hill School.

The school was redesigned in the neoclassical Beaux Arts style. Constructed with tan and limestone bricks, the school featured rows of monumental Ionic columns on each facade. The building is three stories high and its appearance includes a gray buff pressed brick building that is "E" shaped. The new Drum Hill High School had classrooms capacity for 1,000 students, along with a gymnasium, science laboratories, and an auditorium.

The Drum Hill High School was believed to have been finished somewhere between 1909 to 1911. In the 1920s Peekskill consolidated school districts for the different age groups through grades K-12. In 1930 The Drum Hill High School turned into a Junior High School and a larger Peekskill High School was constructed.

The Drum Hill School continued in use until 1972 until it was recycled and reused into the Drum Senior Living Community. In 1979 The Drum Hill High School was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

  1. Williams, Gray. Jackson, Kenneth T.. Picturing Our Past National Register Sites in Westchester County. New York. 2003.
  2. Our History - Drumhill Senior Living Community , Drumhill Senior Living.com. Accessed July 14th 2020. https://drumhillseniorliving.com/our-history/.
Image Sources(Click to expand)

Westchester County Historical Society. Photo by Gray Williams.

National Register of Historic Places Website.

Westchester County Historical Society. Hufeland Collection.