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528 S. Eddy <br />Historical Context <br />This property is located on the northeast corner of Eddy Street and South Street, <br />in South Bend, Indiana. It is described as being a tract of land 898' on Eddy <br />Street x 1129.03' deep in the southwest 1/4 section 7-37-2E, containing <br />approximately 19.96 acres in South Bend. <br />This is a brick, Neo Classical Style, Elementary School Building which was <br />constructed in 1930 and was designed by local architect Ernest W. Young. The <br />entire project from concept to construction took a total of ten years and over <br />$300,000.00 to complete. The Jefferson School was built as an attempt to <br />absorb the population explosion occurring in the Sunnymede area. The school <br />was dedicated on January 30, 1931 by Samuel Pettengill, Congressman elect of <br />the 13th District and Frank Mayr Jr., Secretary of State. W.W. Borden, <br />Superintendent of Schools, named Elmer Cook as the first principle of the new <br />school. Mr. Cook arrived in South Bend in 1923 and was appointed principle of <br />Perley Elementary school in 1925 and served as assistant superintendent from <br />1928 to 1930. <br />The structure contained seventeen classrooms to house 750 students. It was <br />also the first school to incorporate a third floor "Fresh Air" room for <br />undernourished children as part of its original construction. By the second <br />semester of 1931 the school had grown to encompass a seventh grade bringing <br />the total student population to around 900. The school continued to grow until <br />it housed kindergarten through ninth grade reaching an enrollment of 1100. <br />The school experienced a total of three major additions to accommodate the new <br />grades. The first addition occurred in 1937 when seven rooms were added, <br />including a library and home economic rooms. The second addition was added <br />in 1953, just after the removal of the ninth grade. This addition included a <br />lunchroom and kitchen. The third addition was constructed in 1962, it added <br />five classrooms, a gymnasium, shop and administrative offices including nurses <br />quarters. The structure continues to this day to educate the young children of <br />South Bend, particularly those from the Sunnymede area. <br />1 <br />