By Terri Horvath
Monday morning blues might have been an apt description for students attending Carmel High School in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Their classes were held in a building nicknamed the Blue School. The origin of the name has not been recorded. The location is known, however, with boundaries of First Avenue Southeast on the east, South Street Southeast on the south and Range Line Road on the west.
Although the Blue School was built as the town’s first high school in 1887, the education system began much earlier. The first school was started in a one-room log church on the northeast corner of Range Line Road and Smokey Row Road in late 1833 or 1834. Other structures followed as the need developed.
The Blue School experienced several improvements during the years. But by 1921, the Blue School was abandoned because a new school for students in all grades was built at the corner of East Main Street and Fourth Avenue Northeast. Eventually other schools were built, and the Blue School reopened to accommodate only high school students. Its usefulness ended in 1958 when a new high school was built at its current location. The Blue School saw its last days.
The new school expanded as the population grew. Additions came in 1963, 1969 and 1977. Monday morning blues may still apply.
