Owatonna Senior High School

Owatonna High School is a public school in Owatonna, Minnesota, located in the heart of the town. Established in 1877. Construction of the current building started in 1920 and the school was completed in 1921. It is the third high school built in Owatonna. It has just over 1,500 students students and 145 faculty members.HistoryFirst OHSThe First Owatonna High School was a wooden structure built in 1868 on Main St. across the street from what became, in 1877, Pillsbury Baptist Bible College, which was known as Pillsbury Academy at the time. The first class graduated in 1877 with four boys and three girls. A fire destroyed the building in 1882. No photograph of the building is known to exist.Second OHSAfter the loss of the first high school, a larger, brick structure was built in 1883 at the same location as the old, for the coat of $90,000. in 1920 the school newspaper, the Magnet, wrote an article about a bond, that took place on Thursday April 1st, 1920, after the building was deemed a unsafe and outdated. Accounts of extreme crowding and unsafe conditions were reported by staff and students and a referendum was held to get $250,000 for a new a new high school. The referendum passed and a location was chosen on Grove Ave and School Street. In the beginning of the 1920 - 1921 school year, the Magnet wrote an article about the 1920 freshmen class being the largest in the history of the OHS and information about the new building, which was under construction at the time on the other side of Pillsbury. On December 16, 1920 a fire broke out in the bell tower of the school. The fire was extinguished and only minimal damage was caused. Later that school year on April 19, 1921 another fire sparked in the attic of the building and spread, eventually engulfing the roof and second floor. The fire caused severe damage to the building, and the school was closed permanently. Insurance covered $30,000 for the building and $5,000 on content. The remains were demolished sometime after. The site remained empty until 1951 when Washington Elementary School was built.