Osborne (Seventh Ward) School

According to the book Treasure by the Bay, by Ellie Damm, the Seventh Ward School in Sandusky was built in the Romanesque Revival style by George Feick in 1890. Many of the students who attended this school were the children of railroad workers, as the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway depot was not far from this school. In 1908 the school was enlarged, with an addition that doubled its size. In the fall of 1912, the name of the Seventh Ward School was changed to Osborne School. 

Pictured below are several teachers from Osborne School about 1912.

Though not everyone in the picture has been identified, notes with the original picture state that these individuals are included in the photo: Emma Schleicher, Myrtle Coles, Edna Becker, Hattie Ehrhard, principal Winifred Light, Stella Horn, Lucy Day and Marie Weier. Miss Winifred Light was principal of Osborne School for twenty nine years. 

Visit the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center to read more about the history of schools in Sandusky.

Ella McCormick, Elementary Teacher

In the 1880 U.S. Census, Ella McCormick resided with her siblings John and Jennie and her parents, Pat and Bridget McCormick on Miami Avenue, now known as Central Avenue, in Sandusky, Ohio. Both Pat and Bridget McCormick listed their birthplace as Ireland. Jennie McCormick was a music teacher at this time, and Ella McCormick was a school teacher. In December of 1902, the Sandusky Star newspaper ran a contest to choose the most popular teacher in the Sandusky City Schools. Miss Ella McCormick won the contest, with 267 votes. Ella, along with Miss Elizabeth Koegle and Miss Jennie Long, received tickets to see a performance of “The Merchant of Venice” which played at the Nielsen Opera House on December 5, 1902.

On Friday, June 2, 1911, Ella McCormick was among the large group of teachers and students of the Seventh Ward School who enjoyed a lawn social. An orchestra made of students of the Seventh Ward School provided musical entertainment during the evening hours of the lawn social.

Miss Ella McCormick passed away in Tiffin, Ohio on December 30, 1914. Funeral services for Ella McCormick were held at the home of her sister, Mrs. F. H. Zerbe. Miss McCormick was buried in St. Joseph’s Cemetery in Sandusky, Ohio.