The Bangor Area Alumni Association is selling collectable replicas of Bangor Area School Buildings. Each replica sells for $15.00 plus $2.50 for shipping and handling. Call 610-588-5198 first to find out if the replica you want is still available. They can be purchased by sending a check, payable to Bangor Area Alumni Association to:
June Jones 123 Mt. Pleasant Road Bangor, PA 18013 - Include your name, address, and a telephone number where you may be reached in case we have any questions. Replicas are also available at the high school.
Bangor Area High School | Columbus | Portland | Lincoln | Washington Township | McKinley | East Bangor | Centerfield | Roosevelt | Bee Hive Youth Center | Bangor Area Senior High School | Union School | Five Points Elementary | DeFranco Elementary | Bangor Middle School
Bangor Area High School 1926 to 1992
This replica of the facade of Bangor High School will warm the hearts of many students who attended the Bangor Area School District between the years of 1926 and 1992. The original school building complex was located at the corner of Fourth and Broadway in the Borough of Bangor, in Pennsylvania's Northampton County. The facade pictured was erected in 1926 at a cost of $250,000. The brick and masonry structure quickly came to symbolize the Bangor Area School District. The building housed the first high school vocational agricultural curriculum in Eastern Pennsylvania. Following the opening of a new high school building at the district's Five Points Complex, the building became and elementary school known as Bangor Elementary Center. between 1969 and 1992, the building housed an active elementary program with an enrollment of nearly 700 students. Sadly, the building was razed in 1992.
Roseto, Pennsylvania
One of the many beloved landmarks in the borough of Roseto, PA, is the Columbus School. Originally known as the Roseto Public School, the building was erected in 1913 ( an addition was erected in 1938) to serve the needs of this community. Between 1913 and 1955, it served students in grades 1-8 in a varied, experience-based school program. Upon graduation, students often went to Bangor High School in Bangor, PA to complete their formal educational experiences. The Roseto Public School was the first school to enter the new Bangor Area Joint District in 1955; this consolidation led to the Bangor Area School District. Between 1955 and 1978 the Columbus School served as one of the district's elementary schools, until it closed due to the completion of newer school facilities at the district's main campus in Upper Mt. Bethel Township. In 1980, it was reopened, and it is now known as Faith Christian School.
Portland School Portland, Pennsylvania
The Portland School bell tower is a familiar sight atop the "school hill", and many local people received at least part of their public school education in this building. Erected in 1886, the building originally housed all grades through high school. Portland High School graduated students until 1947, when the building was converted into an elementary school serving Portland and parts of Upper Mount Bethel Township. After becoming part of the Bangor Area School District in 1958, the building was used until the opening of the Five Points Elementary School in 1969. It now serves as the Portland Municipal Building.
Lincoln School Bangor, Pennsylvania
The building pictured is actually the second building on the corner of 4th and Market Street in the borough of Bangor. The first building, erected in 1873, was destroyed by fire. The second building was erected in 1895 and was in use for over 75 years. The school housed numerous grades and programs throughout its history. Demolition on the structure began in June, 1989. The school's bell was restored and is currently displayed in the Donald B. Keat Library of the Five Points Elementary School.
Washington Township Elementary School Washington Township
On a hill overlooking the village of Ackermanville, stands a handsome stone school known as the Washington Township Elementary School. Originally built in 1936 as part of this country's Workmen's Public Assistance Program during the Depression, the rough-hewn stone facade surrounds 12 classrooms and various small instructional spaces. The basement serves as the cafeteria, auditorium, and indoor recreation area. With its dedication on September 12, 1937, 15 one-room schools in the area were closed, sending 450 students to the new building. The school originally housed grades 1 through 8 and sent its graduates to Bangor High School for grades 9 through 12. At that time it was known as the Washington Consolidated School. Currently the school houses grades K through 3 and stands as one of the districts last reminders of a time when rural American education was in transition from the one room school to a consolidated and modern educational facility.
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McKinley School South Bangor
One of the many neighborhood schools, located on Miller Street, South Bangor, in the Bangor Area School District. Built in 1906 and closed at the end of the 1970 school year, it housed grades 1 - 4. A stream in the basement kept the student's milk cold during World War II. The basement was also used for air raids. One of the longtime teachers, John Foulkes, taught forty years in the same room. The school was converted into apartments when the district sold the building.
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East Bangor School East Bangor, PA
This one-room brick building was erected in 1865 on land donated by John Rutt on the condition that German be taught. One room was added in 1870 and another two-room story in 1885. In 1909, a two-story four-room addition completed the present day eight-room building. Due to increased enrollment, a cafeteria was added in 1948. East Bangor joined the Bangor School District in 1962. The school closed in 1969 when students were transferred to the Five-Points complex. Intermediate Unit 20 used the building for three years. Today it is owned by East Bangor Borough.
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Centerfield School Martins Creek, PA
- Centerfield School was built about 1905 in the center of a field (therefore its name) just east of the village of Martins Creek. This was the beginning of the Independent School District, which was surrounded by Lower Mount Bethel Township. There was only one other independent district in Pennsylvania, that one near Pittsburgh, PA.
- The school consisted of three classrooms, three teachers and eight grades. Pupils who wanted more education continued their schooling taking Latin, English, and geometry, taught by two of the teachers.
- As enrollment increased, three more classrooms were added, along with indoor plumbing. Around 1925, two more rooms and a new roof were added, changing the appearance of the original English Tudor architecture.
- In 1964 the Independent School District merged with Easton to become the Easton Area School District. A 1974 fire damaged the school, but the auditorium was spared and is now used as a community center.
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Roosevelt School Bangor, PA
- The Roosevelt school was erected in 1906 at the corner of Eighth Street and Pennsylvania Avenue and was named after our 26th president Theodore Roosevelt. Mr Harvey T. Hauer served as the architect and Mr. Amos Albert was contracted to construct the building, a two-story structure made of finished red brick built on a field stone foundation. The school was completed in the summer of 1907 and was ready for occupancy on the opening day, September 3, 1907.
- "This building has all the latest improvements, and its sanitary arrangements are the latest and best, making it the finest building in the borough", stated Superintendent J.W. Gruver.
- The first school board consisted of William E. Lloyd,President, I.B.Poyer, Secretary, and Albert Stout, Treasurer. Other members of the board were Judson Datesman, John A. Pritchard, Adolphus Smith, J.C. Kressler, John Wilheim, David Price, Harry Reimer, Thomas Blake and Arthur Williams.
- Six grades was taught at the school. Adeline Duvall was a principal and the following were teachers: Emily Sandercock, Eleanor Campanaro, Marian Williams, and Lila Rosenberry, Grace Catino served as president of the PTA.
- The building was closed when the schools were consolidated into the Bangor Area School District. It currently houses The Village Press.
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Bee Hive Youth Center Bangor, PA
In 1944, Bangor's Youth Center first opened. Dr. H.D. Eisenberg, superintendent of the Bangor Schools, a leading proponent for the supervised activity of Bangor's youth, chaired a committee which conducted a survey of local youth to determine the type of activities to be held there. School art instructor, Kathyrn Oxford, sponsored a contest to name the building. Darien Smith won the $5.00 award with the name "BEE HIVE". This small two-room brick structure located on North First Street was originally the Bangor Public Library.
Here, for a small yearly fee, adolescents came to dance to the music of the juke box, play ping pong and pitch quoits, or just meet their friends. The highlights of the year were the annual "Bee Hive Minstrel" and the crowning of a king and a queen. The ministel was later renamed "The Happening." All the members of the center were encouraged to take part in this yearly event which was held at the Bangor High School Auditorium on Fourth Street. The public was invited to attend for a nominal fee. Proceeds helped in the operation of the center, with supplementary funds provided by the Bangor Borough.
On March 2, 1967, the building was destroyed by fire. A renewed cooperation of youth and community resulted in the reopening of a new "Bee Hive" at 197 Pennsylvania Avenue on March 2, 1968.
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Bangor Area Senior High School Five Points School Complex
Following the merger of seven local districts into the Bangor Area Joint School District in the late 1950's, plans for the erection of a new senior high school were begun. The new Bangor Area Senior High School in Upper Mt. Bethel Township was opened to students in April, 1962, and dedicated for public use on October 14, 1962. The $2,150,000 school held its first graduation on June 14, 1962. it was the first modern school built on the district's beautiful Five Point Complex. Superintendent D. B. Keat described the school as "a gem in a picturesque valley." The building was one of the first electrically heated school buildings in eastern Pennsylvania. The school, built on 42 acres of land, had a capcity for 650 students. In 1995, the building was renovated and a new library, gtymnasium and classroom wing doubled its size to accommodate a growing Bangor Area School District community. As the 21st century begins, this beautiful building rates as one of the Lehigh Valley's most modern high school facilities.
Five Points School Complex
The Union School was established in 1858 and housed grades 1-8 in one classroom until 1922. Each year there was an enrollment of from 14-22 students, taught by one unmarried female teacher. At times a teacher's helper was present as well. As conventional schools began to appear, the Union School closed due to low enrollment. From 1922 until the 1970's, the building was used to store apples and pears. Later it became a chicken coop until the Bangor Area Schools emerged on the property. In the 1970's a group called SOS (Save Our Schools) began a refurbishing project which was completed in 1998. At that time a rededication ceremony was held in which the wife of then Governor Ridge read to the children. Today the building is used for school and community events. Each fall the entire third grade visits for a series of tours, and the annual first grade spelling bee is also held there.
Five Points Elementary School
Five Points School Complex
In the rolling farm country of Upper Mount Bethel Township stands the one story brick school named the Five Points Elementary School. It was realized in the 1960's that the community schools were beginning to become outdated and so a new school was erected on part of a tract of land known as the Five Points complex. Construction began in 1967. Students in kindergarten through grade six were taught there with a curriculum that required an art room, a music room, a multipurpose room and a library. The design was considered modern for its time and included ramps instead of steps. The building housed approximately 500 students upon its opening.
In 1990, an addition was constructed to handle the growth occurring in the community. Nine new classrooms, a new library and gymnasium were added. When the neighboring Defranco Elementary building was erected in 1992, the grades were realigned and the Five Points Elementary School became a primary school building housing 725 students in kindergarten through grade 3. Though the building is nearly 40 years old, it remains one of the District's most well kept schools.
Domenick DeFranco Elementary School
Five Points School Complex
In response to a growing student population, DeFranco elementary School is the latest edition in series of four modern school buildings constructed on land known at the “Five Points complex.” The building was named after the late Domenick DeFranco for his commitment to education in the Bangor community. A Bangor graduate of 1951, He served the boroughs and townships as an elementary teacher, Director of Elementary Education and Superintendent. The two story brick structure is comprised of 34 academic classrooms servicing 650 students in grades 4,5 and 6. Dedicated in 1990, it was equipped with the latest technological advances for its time, DeFranco boasted a computer lab and closed-circuit television network. Under the leadership of Ms. Dorothy Ruggiero, who served as the building’s first principal, it opened to students in 1992. DeFranco is a unique building for students within the Bangor Area School District as it is the first time students from the Washington and Five Points Elementary Schools converge to form their future graduating class. Through the years DeFranco Elementary School has unified students with the community through a dedicated commitment to character education.
Bangor Middle School
Five Points School Complex
The building currently known as Bangor Area Middle School was built during a period of expansion and renewal of facilities in the late 1960's. When the doors opened to students in 1968, the Bangor Junior High School boasted a planetarium, a language lab, an auditorium, and a regulation gymnasium. The building was originally designed for up to 900 students in grades seven, eight, and nine, to be engaged in a typical junior high school program of studies. With its wide hallways and multifaceted learning spaces, the building was easily modified to conform to program and space needs throughout the years.
In 1997, the Board of School Directors decided to commit resources necessary to transform the program of studies to a middle school program. The middle school currently serves students iin grades seven and eight offering a rigorous program of studies and exploratory experiences to students who are about to embark on their personal paths to future school success. The sprawling singles structure houses about 690 students as well as the district Building and Grounds and Security Offices.
