Old Nevada High School (1907 to 1956)

The building that existed here was the Nevada High School from 1907 until it burned down in 1956. It was a red brick building with terra cotta trimming. It was large and consisted of a four-story middle section and three-story wings. It housed academic, extra-curricular, and administrative facilities. Students of the class of 1955 were the last of thousands to graduate from this school. A fire that is thought to have started in the manual training room spread to engulf the whole building. No one was injured in the fire but students spent four years in various temporary locations until the new school was built many blocks north and west of the square.

Students in Nevada were able to take high school courses starting in the 1870s. The first class graduated in 1880 and consisted of ten members. Instruction occurred at many locations over the years including in the upper floors of the Duck Block and in Central School Building. In 1906 voters authorized a $50,000 bond to build a high school. The building was red brick trimmed with terra cotta and sat just a block east of the city square. It was three stories plus a basement in the middle and two stories on the sides. It consisted of nine classrooms, study hall, gym, auditorium, library, science labs, offices, and school board room. Thousands of Nevada teens graduated from this building.

It might be most remembered though because of its dramatic demise. School was cancelled for high schoolers living in Nevada, Missouri on Thursday November 29th, 1956. Although the temperature was in the 20s, school was not cancelled for snow, but because the school was destroyed by a fire. Nevada High School caught fire the night prior around 10pm and continued to burn until early morning the next day. The loss was devastating, price placed at $1,700,000 and more than 900 students left with no school to attend to. Fortunately, there were no casualties, besides a minor injury. The Superintendent and Principal were also acting fast to make sure students would dive right back into their classes. Building the new high school would take around 2 years, with the present day Nevada High School opening in 1959. This would not have been possible without the community coming together.

The first one to spot flames arising from Nevada High School was Mrs. Allen, the New County Welfare Office Director’s wife. The Nevada Fire Department was called, and they rushed from the station less than 6 blocks away. The firefighters were struggling to keep control of the fire and it was said that the “flames swept upward through the large duct-work in the building.” The intensity of the fire made it nearly impossible to put out, so the firefighters worked on keeping the flames from spreading to other nearby buildings. The origin of the fire was assumed to have started in the manual training room of the school building. 

Fireman Roger “Dutch” Wachtel was busy extinguishing the remaining flames on the East side of the building when he then slipped on the ice. He knew immediately that he broke his leg and told them to call an ambulance. This was around 8:45 in the morning, so students started to show up as well as their families who heard word of the fire. A young student said he arrived at the school in total shock, not expecting to see total destruction; “Being a typical eighth grader I wondered if we would still have basketball practice, the thought never crossed my mind that the entire school might have burnt down” -- anonymous Nevada resident.

Hardly anything was salvaged. A couple of trophies of the school’s accomplishments were saved and eventually stored in a barn belonging to Glessie Ewing, a Nevada High School alumni. The fire resulted in a devastating loss of $1,700,000. The music department suffered the biggest loss, in which they lost around $10,000 in music scores, personal and school owned instruments, and uniforms. All sports teams had to play games away from home, and because of the distance it was hard to gain an audience.

Superintendent C.H. Jones and Principal Garland Keithly instantly took action. C.H. Jones proposed $60,000 in bonds to work on fixing the school and giving students classroom spaces. Garland Keithly spent his time planning dates and times for students to come in to discuss personal belongings that were lost in the fire. He also took charge of where classrooms would be, which ended up being scattered throughout town. The Nevada Highschool band played in the basement of the town’s public library. Pine Street Baptist Church, two supermarkets, the Nevada Motor company building, and a laundry mat held classes. There was no cafeteria, so a lot of students ate at White Grill or packed their own food. Buses circled around town all day transporting students to and from their classes. C.H. Jones said that almost $11,000 was spent on remodeling the buildings and $800 a month was being spent to rent those buildings. Insurance was able to cover $815,000, so it made it possible to afford new band instruments, equipment, and school supplies for the new school.

The new high school was built in 1959, on a different site than the old high school. The old Nevada high school stood on East Cherry St., which is now occupied by the U.S. Post Office and Citizens bank. There are no remains of the old high school. While the new Nevada High School stands on West Ashland St.

Johnson, JB. History of Vernon County, Missouri: Past and Present. Chicago. CF Cooper, 1911.

Shook, E. 900 Learning the Hard Way. The Kansas City Star. Feb. 10, 1959.

Vernon County Historical Society Files.