SOUTH WARD SCHOOL SITE

In 1873, the first school under public administration in present-day Pinellas County was established in a log structure originally built for the Midway Baptist Church in the area of what is now the Clearwater Municipal Cemetery. In 1884, the school relocated to a one-room, wood-framed structure built on this site. Named the Clear Water School, the building expanded in 1888, and had 90 students in attendance by 1902. A larger, two-story masonry schoolhouse was constructed in 1906 and the wooden structure was demolished. The school expanded again in 1912 with the construction of the first Clearwater High School on this site. The high school’s principal, Dixie M. Hollins, became Pinellas County’s first school superintendent later that year. In 1915, the campus was renamed the South Ward School. Beginning in 1951, the final school building on this site, which included a kindergarten classroom, was built behind the high school. The South Ward School was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. Though it ceased operations in 2008, the school remains an important part of Pinellas County’s cultural heritage.