File:High School on 4th Avenue engulfed in flames January 1928.jpg

Summary

On a January night in 1928, horrified Brunswick residents witnessed the high school on 4th Avenue engulfed in flames. After the fire and during the subsequent renovation, makeshift classes were held in the First Methodist Church and in the old Red Men’s Hall, which was then occupied by the Eagles. Manual training classes were held at Karn’s Lumber Yard. Shorthand and typing classes were held on the 3rd floor of the Orrison Building. When time came to change classes, students did so by walking the streets.

The old site was retained for economic reasons as the Frederick County building inspector found the outside walls “sound, well built and reusable.” A new, enlarged facility opened in September, 1928.

(Photo from the 1965 Railroader Yearbook via Sherry Bowers Stull; information courtesy of “Brunswick: 100 Years of Memories” by the City of Brunswick MD History Commission)

James S. Bennett Sr.: My Father grad in 1925 he would tell me about this when I was young.