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WITHERSPOON AND WECHSLER SCHOOLS

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1888 Witherspoon School, Gustavus M. Torgerson; 1936 additions, P. J. Krouse. 1514 12th Ave. 1894 Wechsler School; 1914 addition, P. J. Krouse; 1951 annex, Krouse and Yarbrough. 1415 30th Ave.

The oldest public school building surviving in Mississippi is the Witherspoon School. It is a two-story stuccoed brick building with segmental-arched windows, some having label moldings, in recessed bays. The deeply over-hanging hipped roof and brick entrance porch were added in the early twentieth century. Two rear additions, an auditorium/cafeteria wing by Krouse and a brick annex, complete the rambling structure, which is currently vacant.

The substantial, brick (now stucco-covered) Wechsler School is the oldest African American public school in the state and features pilasters, segmental-arched windows, and an arched canopy at the principal entrance. A 1914 classroom addition to the rear mimics the appearance of the front section. The 1951 flat-roofed, blond brick, modernist annex was designed by Krouse’s son, C. D. Krouse of Krouse and Yarbrough. Plans are underway to repurpose the building as a community facility.

Writing Credits

Author: 
Jennifer V.O. Baughn and Michael W. Fazio with Mary Warren Miller
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Data

What's Nearby

SOULÉ STEAM FEED WORKS
MERIDIAN WATERWORKS CLEAR WATER BASIN AND PUMPING STATION
UNION STATION
U.S. POST OFFICE AND COURTHOUSE
LAUDERDALE COUNTY COURTHOUSE

Citation

Jennifer V.O. Baughn and Michael W. Fazio with Mary Warren Miller, "WITHERSPOON AND WECHSLER SCHOOLS", [Meridian, Mississippi], SAH Archipedia, eds. Gabrielle Esperdy and Karen Kingsley, Charlottesville: UVaP, 2012—, http://sah-archipedia.org/buildings/MS-02-EM23.

Print Source

Buildings of Mississippi, Jennifer V. O. Baughn and Michael W. Fazio. With Mary Warren Miller. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2021, 222-222.

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