Waco School
1923-1984
Four smaller country-type schools were the predecessors of Mapleton Road High School, later known as Waco School.
Fairview School, District #10 housed students in grades one through eight. This brick structure with two coal-burning stoves, hand dug well, and “path” later became the Hein residence in the 1500 block of Trump Road Southeast. The attendance area drew from current Route 30 or Lincoln Street, Trump Road, Baker Street, and down Mapleton. The area was almost totally agricultural and there were not many different families represented. There were only a few students at each respective grade level and the older helped the younger.
Pleasant View was located in the area of the current Ford Motor plant. This wooden structure was destroyed when a three-room unite was built in the current Trump School area.
Brenner School was a two-story structure just west of the Waco Epworth United Methodist Church. The approximate dates for it to operate as a one to eight grade school was 1900-1920.
For several years in the early 1920s, it also served as a high school with limited curriculum. The second story of this brick structure was torn off and it is now a one-story brick church known as the Church of Christ.
Sponseller School on Waynesburg Drive was the fourth smallest school to “feed” into the Mapleton Road High School. It was located in the area of the current Sponseller Grange and the walk for these boys and girls was quite long.
After eighth grade, the students desiring further education went to Canton. They would walk from the home are to Belden-Tuscarawas Street. There they paid for a streetcar/trolley to take them to Canton McKinley High School. A number of the area residents attended nine-twelve grades and were graduates of Canton McKinley in the World War 1 years and early 1920s.
Construction was initiated in 1923 and continued to 1924 on Mapleton Road High School. The eleven-room, three-story brick facility also had an auditorium for sports events. The third floor was devoted totally to high school with offerings in all sciences, economics (sewing and manual arts were taught on the first floor. The second floor was the main area for the elementary school.
Classes began in the fall of 1924 and the united housed grades one-twelve. The first graduating class was 1926. From 1926 to 1931 each graduating class was less than twelve students per year. Mapleton Road High School and North Industry High School operated under the same building planning and the same school board from 1923-1931.
Principals at Waco: Mr. Fred Paul and Mr. Walt Linhart
Secretaries at Wavo: Eileen Hayden (1950-55) Sybil Welch (1956- 1984)