HISTORIC REFLECTION … This Stryker school was erected in 1903-04 southwest of the intersection of Defiance and Short streets, just east of the site of the 1868/1886 school building destroyed by an arsonist on December 9, 1902. The building was designed by W.H. Powers and constructed by Monroe Snyder of Fort Wayne, Ind., at a cost of approximately $28,000. Built of pressed brick trimmed with Cleveland sandstone, and topped by a slate roof and tower containing an 800-pound bell, it was said to be the finest school building in Williams County when it was completed. The three-story building measured 78 by 85 feet and included an auditorium and library. The school building officially opened on September 5, 1904, with an enrollment of 227 students, housing all 12 grades until completion of the 1922 high school building. In February 1979, the building was razed to make room for construction of the existing elementary school. This circa 1910 historic photograph of the 1903 Stryker school is from the Kevin Maynard collection.
