The OES visited North Robinson Consolidated School on January 28, 2013. Most recently known as the Colonel Crawford Intermediate School, the school building was constructed in 1921. There were originally several school districts surrounding the small village of North Robinson. Leesville and Jefferson Township schools merged to form the North Robinson Consolidated School. Years later, North Robinson consolidated into Colonel Crawford Local Schools. The North Robinson Consolidated School became the intermediate school when a new high school was constructed just south of the building. A two-story wing was added to the intermediate school around the same time the high school was built. The building continued to serve as Colonel Crawford Intermediate School through the mid-2000s, when a new combined elementary/intermediate school was built south of the high school. The old North Robinson Consolidated School building closed in 2006.
The school seemed to be in decent shape when we visited the building. There was some water leaking in the second-floor gymnasium and auditorium room and a few busted windows, but the rest of the building seemed sound. The first floor of the school was being used for storage, including old school furniture, trophies, and several other items. Perhaps the most unusual thing being stored within the building was an old log cabin that had been dismantled. There were large hand-hewn beams and logs scattered about the building. We were told that the cabin will be reconstructed nearby to be used as an educational tool about pioneer life. Several people mentioned that the school was haunted and asked that we check the area around the stage. Other than this, no other specifics were given. We did record audio the entire time we were inside the building, but nothing unusual was found during playback.
Sadly, the building’s days were numbered when we visited, as it was slated for demolition. We received word in December 2014 that the North Robinson Consolidated School had been demolished. Thank you to Superintendent Todd Martin for giving us permission to photograph the building.
Location Information: Demolished
North Robinson Consolidated School was located on State Route 602 in North Robinson; Crawford County.
Photographs: Exterior & First Floor
North Robinson Consolidated School was built in 1921. The section to the left was added later.
The school's original main entrance.
The school's original name was above the main doors.
The wall was topped with either limestone or sandstone.
The side entrance, facing the high school, served as the school's main entry for many years.
A two-story wing was added onto the main building in the 1950s or 1960s.
Direct access doors for the basement on the school's northwest side.
You can easily see the seam in the bricks where the two buildings join.
It appeared that the size of the building's original windows were much larger.
This basement entry was entirely inaccessible due to debris filling the stairwell.
The basement's second entrance was still clear.
Looking into one of the addition's windows.
The first floor windows were boarded over on the northeast side of the building.
The southeast wall of the school's addition.
An open courtyard area between the older building and the addition.
Several large blocks of concrete and a transformer sat in the courtyard.
Room 108 was handicap accessible.
Looking from Room 108's door toward the high school.
The two sets of doors led to the school's gymnasium.
The old metal stairs were rusting.
No trespassing signs were posted in several of the school's windows. Good thing we were given permission!
This was in front of the school. Perhaps it was the mount for the flagpole.
An outdoor drinking fountain was once located here. This is its base.
This was just north of the school. We think it was a well or septic tank.
The town's water tower and school's stadium were east of the building.
The welcoming foyer of the old North Robinson School.
A nice mural of the American flag with an eagle graced the foyer.
This sign posted on the doors requested that all visitors report to the school's office.
A pile of Bucyrus Telegraph-Forum papers dated December 11, 1941, sat on the foyer's floor. It is not known if these were original papers or reprints.
This plaque once displayed North Robinson's track records. The name plates had been removed.
Inside the main front hall of the old school building. The large pieces of wood were part of the cabin being stored here.
The school's office was just inside the door to the left.
More cabin pieces were stored in the office.
The school's office seemed to have been a converted classroom.
Going into one of the restrooms.
Toilets were separated by half-wall stalls and curtains.
Several metal tables lined the main hallway.
These doors were the original main entrance at the front of the school.
The view from the old main doors.
The floor of this classroom had started to buckle.
Urinals lined the wall of this restroom, along with several toilets.
This sign hung above the doorway to the second stairwell.
This door led to the home economics room.
The home-ec kitchen area.
An old ironing board was left behind.
Looking from the original section of the school toward the expansion.
The cabin's stairs sat in the hall between the original building and the expansion.
This was the back hallway of the school, in the expansion wing.
Another classroom was full of chairs, tables and desks.
This particular room had the ABC's laid in the floor. It was used as the kindergarten room.
Desks, chairs, filing cabinets and boxes were stored in this room.
Another classroom was full of chairs, tables and desks.
Several large signs and some outdoor lighting fixtures were stored in this room.
Boxes upon boxes of the school's trophies were also stored in this room.
A display case in the hallway contained an Eagle Country mural, complete with a tree and stuffed eagles.
This was one of the back corner classrooms on the first floor of the expansion wing.
This room contained several large metal cabinets and some black cases. It reminded us of a music room.
The school's old scoreboard was also stored in this room.
This classroom was off of the middle hallway of the older section of the school.
Boxes with various pieces of paper lined this counter.
In the same room, there were several more boxes full of papers rotting on the floor.
Planks of wood were piled up over in the corner of the room.
The busted glass of a classroom door.
There were several large boxes of air filters being stored in this classroom.
Many of the classrooms in the original school had coat racks similar to this one.
