The History of Granville Hopkins High School Granville (population 1,414) is located in north-central Illinois in northeastern Putnam County. The town is located on Illinois Route 71 just west of Illinois Route 89. The Conrail Railroad passes through town as does two branches of the Allforks Creek. The history of Granville is in need of more extensive research. A great deal of information was sent to us by the Hopkins High School Alumni Association at the request of Mr. Harold Maulfair. The information in summary, is as follows: Hopkins Township High School in Granville was created in 1916 by the voters of the communitites of Granville, Standard, and Mark. It was not until 1917, however that the school was official recognized as a Township High School. Classes began that fall in the Granville Grade School building, however, later moved to the second floor of the post office. This was done while construction had started on the new Hopkins Township High School building. The $40,000 building was constructed on the north side of Granville. It was finished and occupied in December of 1918. If the Class of 1916-17 is counted as part of the Hopkins High School graduating classes, than Hopkins High would go on to graduate exactly 50 senior classes (1,329 students) in her rich history. The Class of 1965-66 would be HTHS’ final graduating class as a consolidation effort with Magnolia-Swaney High School brought forth the newly created Putnam County School District. The Hopkins High School had many unique attributes including a pergola and colonade on the west side of the building. This was replaced in 1950 with a new gymnasium. Some less-than-nostalgic thinking in the mid-1970’s saw a grade school structure built in front of the Hopkins High School building, blocking its beloved stately look. This led to the Hopkins Township High School building eventually being relegated to storage use only. Weather, elements, time, and lack of use saw the building eventually fall into a sad state of disrepair. In 1998, it was decided to demolish the the once thriving and memorable building. June 23rd of 1998 saw the beginning of the building’s destruction by a professional wrecking crew. The only building of the original structure that was spared was what was known as “the old garage.” This building was put to excellent usage as a museum honoring the Hopkins High School history and memories of those who attended school there. Congratulations to the dedicated alumni of Hopkins High in their attempts to keep the memories of their school and their childhood days alive for generations to come. Granville Hopkins High School Quick Facts Year opened: 1918 Year closed: 1966 Consolidated to: Putnam County High School (Granville) School nickname: “Hornets” School colors: Green and White School Fight Song: unavailable
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
