McCormick Middle School is part of the Wellington Exempted Village School District (WEVSD) located in Wellington, Ohio

Wellington, Ohio

Wellington is a village in Lorain County, Ohio, United States. The population was 4,511 at the 2000 census.-History:Wellington was settled in 1818 by Ephraim Wilcox, Charles Sweet, William T. Welling, John Clifford, and Joseph Wilson from the states of Massachusetts and New York...

 (Lorain County, Ohio

Lorain County, Ohio

Lorain County is a county located in the U.S. state of Ohio, and is considered to be a part of what is locally referred to as Greater Cleveland. As of the 2010 census, its population was 301,356. an increase from 284,664 in 2000...

).

History

The original school was built in 1867 and is currently used for educational and cafeteria space (13,114 sq/ft). It is hidden from view by the 1916 addition (20,010 sq/ft), as seen in the picture to the right. A second addition was built in 1938 and consists of an auditorium (40,023 sq/ft). The final addition was completed in 1953 (27,568 sq/ft). Total space for the entire facility is 100,714 sq/ft.

Myron T. Herrick

Myron T. Herrick

Myron Timothy Herrick was a Republican politician from Ohio. He served as the 42nd Governor of Ohio.-Biography:...

, 42nd Governor of Ohio (1904-1906) and twice United States Ambassador to France (1912-1914 & 1921-1929), attended high school at the Wellington Union School (1867 section).

Telescope and Observatory

1922 saw the addition of an astronomical observatory with a 4-inch Bausch & Lomb refracting telescope. These items were gifts from the Wellington Alumni Association in memory of Prof. R.H. Kinnison, a former Superintendent of Wellington Schools. His hobbies included astronomy and related sciences. The total cost was quoted at $2,250, which included the observatory tower, telescope/mount and various accessories. The agreed location for this memorial was on the roof of the 1916 addition. The white dome is visible in the Color McCormick with Observatory picture on the right.

1938 Classroom/Auditorium Addition

In 1938, 15 new classrooms and an auditorium/gymnasium were approved by the Board of Education. The proposed total cost was $194,402 with $85,612 (45%) coming from a Federal Public Works Administration

Public Works Administration

The Public Works Administration , part of the New Deal of 1933, was a large-scale public works construction agency in the United States headed by Secretary of the Interior Harold L. Ickes. It was created by the National Industrial Recovery Act in June 1933 in response to the Great Depression...

(P.W.A.) grant listed under "P.W.A. - Docket-No. OH-1673 F" and the remaining amount collected from a bond issue, which voters passed during a special election on August 6, 1938. The project formally started on July 22, 1938 and was completed September 5, 1939.

Architect

The additions were designed by Cleveland architect, Harry A. Fulton. During his career, Fulton was known as the "dean of school architects". He designed many school buildings in Cleveland and northeast Ohio. Henretta, Avon, Brownhelm and Columbia Schools in Lorain County, all built between 1921 - 1922, were designed by the architectural firm of Fulton, Taylor and Cahill.

Wellington Historic District

The Wellington Historic District is listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) as an Historic District. It was added to the register in 1978 and consists of 200 buildings. 116 of these buildings are either listed individually or listed as a contributing building on the National Register. McCormick Middle School is not individually listed, but is inventoried as a contributing building.

Quotes from the NRHP Inventory/Nomination Form:

“From the public square to the southern edge of the district, South Main Street is a tree lined residential street that contains some of Lorain County’s finest historic houses.”

“Few communities have a resource of historic buildings, either in magnitude or quality, as Wellington possesses.”

“While historic buildings are found throughout the village, the great majority and the finest examples may be found along South Main Street and the center of town.”

Google Map of the Wellington Historic District.