Elyria High School history

46, Free and Accepted Masons, founded in 1819 by Heman Ely who served as a Worshipful Master.

He donated land to build the first courthouse on Ely Square, and in 1830, Elyria High School was incorporated as the first chartered high school west of the Allegheny Mountains under the guidance of Superintendent John Monteith.

By 1835, school superintendent John Monteith had become a staunch abolitionist, opening a boarding house and school for girls on East Avenue.

First United Methodist Church was created three years later, followed in 1836 by First Baptist Church of Elyria, and St Andrews Church the year after.

In 1845, the first Catholic Church was built, St Mary Parish – Our Lady of the Assumption.

Before his death in 1852, Heman Ely would watch Elyria transform into a bustling metropolis of more than 1,500 residents, with three grocery stores, five churches, and its own newspaper.

West & Wilson filed a patent for the first sewing machine in 1858, which was manufactured in theCity of Elyria and is now housed in the Smithsonian Museum.

The first electric trolley rolled across the streets of Elyria in 1894 as a means to transport Elyria steelworkers to the Steel Mill in Lorain.

By 1905, the bicycle industry was on the decline, and Garford shifted his attention towards the burgeoning automobile industry, building a significant production plant on Clark street to produce automobiles, as well as parts to fulfill a partnership with Studebaker.

The Elyria YWCA dates back to 1913, eventually building Holly Hall, a center to house a variety of groups dedicated to the betterment of young women, named after revered director Miss Ona Holly.

In 1919, Allen founded the Ohio Society for Crippled Children, which would eventually become Easter Seals.

Their new rubber heel sold more than forty-three million pairs in 1920 alone.

William F. Ohlemacher opened Elyria Manufacturing Corporation to produce screw machine products in 1925.

The Parker Hannifin Airborne Division moved into a former lace-manufacturing facility in 1965, and together with neighbor Lear Romec/Crane Aerospace, Elyria is home to two prominent leaders in the aerospace industry.

In 1971, after several successful mergers and acquisitions, the company became known as Invacare Corporation and still operates out of Elyria to this day.

By 1975 the Bendix dual air brake system had become the industry standard.

A new $73 million high school campus that incorporated the historical Washington Building was completed in 2011, and the district is currently working on the consolidation and further improvement of the remaining school buildings.