The Monitor School (or Coal Grove School) was built in 1905 as the area's new
High School, and was later converted into an elementary school.
It was built by Cooke Bros. Construction Company with architect T.S. Murray, a
local citizen. T.S. Murray had his office on the second floor of the Furlong
building, and his company was sued by St. Joseph's in the 1880s for breach of
contract. The obituaries of T.S. Murray and his family can be found at
www.lawrencecountyohio.com
It was part of what later became the Dawson-Bryant school district. The school apparently closed sometime in the 1980s/1990s after a new school was
built.
The date listed on one site is 1984. The school had been named a
defendant in a law suit regarding outdated heating practices involving coal.
Afterwards, it was apparently still owned by the Dawson-Bryant School District.
In 2000, the community tried to rally together and turn the abandoned school
into a community center.
It was, however bought by an investor who wished to
turn it into an apartment complex. The community again rallied...this time
AGAINST those plans.
They wanted to keep the building in as original condition
as possible. It is now back on the market. The main paranormal activity reported is strange lights seen inside the building
when no one is there, and also scant reports of a ghostly janitor seen roaming
the halls.
Date:
July 15, 2007
Overview:
This is a very spectacular building
architecture wise, it is a shame that nobody has bought it, restored it and made
good use of it. Although the structure of the building is very sound, overall it
is in pretty poor condition. It has been abandoned for 8-10 years, most of the
windows are broken and many boarded up. The interior is a mess with bird
droppings and dead bats, and the remnants of an attempt to turn the building
into apartments. The roof is in great need of repair as pigeons have taken
residence in its rotting areas. Inside there are still a few reminders of the
halls full of children that once walked there, from a old dusty out of tune
piano, and a ball that was lying in one of the old classrooms and even a
photograph of a little boy who looked to be in the hospital with a broken leg.
We really enjoyed our time inside this building, however that night was
relatively quite with the exception of a bird flying out from total darkness
scaring one of our guest investigators. We found no trace of paranormal activity
during our investigation nor did we gather any evidence of paranormal activity
from the Monitor School. For now the halls of this old school will remain quiet.
Video:
Video clip from the investigation at the
Monitor School, Melissa and Theresa stumble upon a photograph laying in the
floor of a little boy...perhaps the photo of a former student of the school?
