Group Photographs on the Steps of Sandusky High School

Sandusky photographer Ernst Niebergall took many images of people and places in and around Erie County during most of the first half of the twentieth century. He was a native of Germany, and during times of war, he had his cameras confiscated, as government officials considered him a potential threat to the country. (Read more about Mr. Niebergall at the April 2004 edition of Paper Trails, from the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center.) 

A popular location for some of Niebergall’s group pictures was on the steps of the old Sandusky High School, later Adams Junior High School.  Below is a photograph of the War Bond Group of the Sandusky Chamber of Commerce, taken on May 27, 1918. A large American flag is hanging over the middle door on the western portion of the school building.

Two more group photos of members of the Sandusky Chamber of Commerce were taken by Mr. Niebergall on June 25, 1919. In the picture below, the men are all wearing hats.

It appears that Mr. Niebergall was a stickler for detail, or he had an unusual sense of humor, as another picture of the same group is nearly identical, except that the men have removed their hats.

Several years later, Niebergall took this picture of the Sandusky High School Band on the steps of Sandusky High School. Over sixty members of the band are pictured with their instruments in 1935.

The steps at the old Sandusky High School, facing the Erie County Courthouse look virtually the same today as they did when Mr. Niebergall took the group pictures many years ago.