Our church is housed in the old Stephen Mack School building.  We feel a special connection with this historical place of learning in our community and have established a small display at the south entrance to the building with items and information to honor and preserve this history.

History of Stephen Mack School

1840 – A private school was provided by Stephen Mack for children from the Macktown settlement on the second floor of a woodworking shop until the building was damaged by fire.

Mack then worked with his neighbors to construct a frame school building that became known as the South Side School.  The students who had attended classes above Mack’s workshop enrolled here until the organization of the South Rockton Common Elementary District…in 1856. A new, frame building subsequently erected by the district, was completed in 1857.  

The two-room brick structure, completed in 1927, was dedicated Stephen Mack School and the district’s name was officially changed to Stephen Mack Common Elementary District No. 14.

…a two-room addition…was completed in 1960.  This construction expanded the facility to four classrooms and the area’s growth rate prompted the directors to purchase some adjacent property on which to expand the playground and lay out a baseball diamond.

Source: Espy pp. 111-13