Old South Ward School To Reopen As Clearwater History Museum

CLEARWATER - Clearwater will take a giant step toward preserving the community's rich history when it hosts the grand opening of the Clearwater Historical Society Museum and Cultural Center at the South Ward School on Saturday, June 15 from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m.

Residents are invited to celebrate at an open house in the restored South Ward Elementary School in downtown Clearwater where they will mingle with characters from Clearwater’s past, and enjoy local music.

Visitors can explore exhibits that tell stories of the area’s tourism, leisure, sports, trains, restaurants and schools.

“With a dedicated team of volunteers and support of local business and government, we’ve been able to prepare the property and exhibits to get ready for this day,” said Allison Dolan, president of the Clearwater Historical Society. “We started on this journey in 2016 and this opening is just the beginning,” she said. “The team is planning more exhibits, assembling a research library and creating a meeting and event space for the community.”

Pinellas County’s Historical Preservation Board will kick off the celebration at 10 a.m. with an unveiling ceremony of the South Ward School’s historical marker. This marker places the site on the state’s Florida Historical Marker Program.

Located at the historic South Ward School on 610 South Fort Harrison Ave., the museum was created in partnership with Pinellas County Schools and the Clearwater Bombers.

The two-story masonry school was constructed in 1906 with four large classrooms to replace a wood-frame schoolhouse that was being used by Clearwater's children.

In 1915, the population of this area had increased to a level that a new elementary school was
built on North Ft. Harrison Avenue. Prior to this time, the school on South Ft. Harrison was simply
known as Clearwater School. But with two schools, names were needed to distinguish them. The names South Ward and North Ward were chosen. Some accounts say that both were named in honor of a family named Ward.

In 1924, a new high school was built on its own campus on Greenwood (now Martin Luther King Jr.) Avenue, and a junior high was added behind the new high school in 1926.

Finally, in 1954, Clearwater High School moved to its current location on South Hercules Avenue at Gulf-To-Bay Boulevard and Clearwater Junior High School expanded into the old high school building.

The Clearwater Junior High School remained in this location until in 1964 when it was renamed John F Kennedy Junior High and moved to a new building on Palmetto Street near Clearwater Air Park. The old Clearwater High School burned in 1976 and is now a vacant lot.

Kennedy Junior became Kennedy Middle School and now is home to Clearwater Fundamental Middle School.

The third major building on the South Ward campus was built in stages during the 1950s and '60s as a cafeteria, kindergarten and media center. During these years, the school continued to be used for other community functions such as civic club meetings.

In 2008, after about 125 years of operation as a school on the site, South Ward ceased operations. North Ward was closed the following year.

The buildings were left to deteriorate before the historical society began preservation efforts.

The Clearwater Historical Society Inc. is a registered nonprofit with a mission to educate, collect, preserve, exhibit and promote the people, culture and events of Clearwater’s past.

The new Clearwater Historical Society Museum and Cultural Center is located at 610 S. Fort Harrison Ave. Those attending should park in the lot across from the First United Methodist Church at 411 Turner St. on the corner of Ft. Harrison Avenue and Turner Street.

Starting June 15, the museum will be open Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The building will be used for the society's biannual fish fries, social events and as a meeting space.

For further information or to volunteer, call 727-754-8019, email the society at clearwaterhistoricalsociety@gmail.com or click here.