Fairmount Historical Museum

Efforts to Save the Old Fairmount High School

06-07-2005

Article from the Marion Chronicle-Tribune:
Plans for former school unveiled
Funding unsure; town council seeking grant

By PAUL McKIBBEN, STAFF WRITER

FAIRMOUNT -- James Dean's former high school could one day be the new home of the Fairmount Public Library and museum exhibits or serve as housing for the elderly. Stenz Construction Co. of Indianapolis has proposed a two-phase renovation of the 104-year-old building that would cost between $2.1 million and $2.3 million, according to the firm's plans.

The first phase calls for refurbishing the original 6,476 square foot building, including the third-floor auditorium, according to Fairmount Clerk-Treasurer Mike Burton. The Fairmount Public Library would move into the school's ground floor. The main floor would be a community center. The upper level would house a community room that would feature exhibits on Dean, an actor, and Garfield creator Jim Davis, who also attended the school, Burton said. The auditorium, on the same floor, would be restored.

In the second phase, a new addition facing Buckeye Street would be built that would include housing for senior citizens. "The Stenz company plans to do a beautiful job of bringing the community back into the building," said Judy Cowling, president of Historic Fairmount, noting that when the work is completed, the structure should resemble the school that students attended. The Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana placed the school on its list of 10 most endangered structures in the state last year. It's been vacant since 1986 when the school closed because of consolidations.

The Madison-Grant Youth League, a basketball group that uses the school's gymnasium, owns the building. "This is one we see as a plan that's actually feasible, that can actually work," said Wayne Goodman, program assistant with the foundation's Columbia City office.

What is uncertain is who would pay for the construction. Fairmount Town Council President Melba Root said the town does not have any money to pay for the project, but Monday the council approved applying for an Indiana Department of Commerce grant. The estimated $35,000 to $50,000 grant would pay for a feasibility study of the project.

Root said the school is worth preserving because of its history. "People come, and they want to see it, see where James Dean went to school," she said. In addition to Dean, who graduated from the school in 1949, and Davis, retired CBS News correspondent Phil Jones also attended the school.