Unioto High School

Unioto High School is a public high school near Chillicothe, Ohio. It is the only high school in the Union-Scioto Local School District. Their school colors are purple and gold.

The name "Unioto" is derived from the two townships that the school district primarily serves in Ross County, Union Township and Scioto Township.

The current high school building is situated on land that was once owned and operated by the United States Army as Camp Sherman. Camp Sherman operated from 1917 until 1920. Its purpose was to train U.S. Army soldiers for service in France during the First World War.

The school is surrounded today by property still owned by the government. Nearby are the following:
*Chillicothe Correctional Institute
*Ross Correctional Institute
*The Chillicothe Correctional Institutes's State Penal Dairy Farm
*The Chillicothe Veterans Administration Hospital
*The Hopewell Culture National Historical Park(Mound City)

Athletics

cioto Valley Conference

* Bainbridge Paint Valley Bearcats
* Chillicothe Unioto Sherman Tanks
* Chillicothe Zane Trace Pioneers
* Frankfort Adena Warriors
* Huntington Ross Huntington Huntsmen
* Piketon Redstreaks
* Richmond Dale/Chillicothe Southeastern Panthers
* Williamsport Westfall Mustangs

"See also Ohio High School Athletic Conferences"

tate Wide Success

* Girls Basketball2-time State Runner Ups(86-87, 88-89), also made one other trip to the State Final Four(94-95)4-time District Champions
* Boys Basketball1-time State Runner Up(90-91)
* Boys Cross Country3-time Regional Champions(04-06)
* Girls Volleyball2-time State Final Four Qualifier
* Baseball2-time State Final Four Qualifier
* Boys Soccer1-time State Final Four Qualifier
* Boys Track and Field is the best 1-time State Finals Qualifier
* Girls Track and Field1-time State Finals Qualifier 8th grade svc champs we beat zt 2004

History

(From the Chillicothe Gazette, 1962)¹

The first school house in Union Township was built about 1800, at or near the log house of Mr. Joseph Clark. It was a structure with a puncheon floor and a roof of clapboards with eight-poles laid across to keep them on. The windows were made by cutting out a log for several feet on each side of the house and putting greased paper in the opening. One end of the house was almost entirely appropriated for a fireplace. The seats consisted of split slabs supported by wooden pins. In this manner the school houses were built for a number of years. A school was opened in a log cabin about a mile north of where Andersonville now stands, in 1815 or 1816, the teacher being a man by the name of Perkins. It was afterwards held in a school house on the Inghams’ farm. East of the village. A hewed log house was erected a short distance above Andersonville in 1823, and was used until the brick house in the village was erected. A school house was built at an early date where the Union Church now stands, and another where the upper part of the basin was, in 1814 or 1815, Mr. Young and Mr. Lowery were the teachers. One of the earliest schools was opened on the farm of Thomas Withgott in which Charles McCrea was one of the first teachers. The first school in the Cook neighborhood was kept in a six-cornered, round log school house, as early as 1805 or 1806. Ebeneezer Everts was one of the first school teachers there, teaching several terms. The first school organized under the School Law was the Quaker School, then kept in a hewed log school house.¹

The one room school houses of Union and Scioto townships were abandoned at the end of the school year 1935-1936, upon the recommendation of the State Department of Education. A new district was created using the name Union-Scioto Rural School. The school became known as “Unioto”, a contractive term taken from Union and Scioto. A tax levy of 3 ½ mils voted by the district evolved the sum of $50,000 which was matched by another $50,000 from the Federal government under the Public Works Administration and numbered as Project M OH 1021 R. The building site was purchased from Mr. George Garrison, on Egypt Pike, for the sum of $2,000. Construction was started in February of 1936, and the building was occupied September 23 of the same year. DeVoss and Donaldson were the architects, McCabe and Proctor were the contractors.¹

It was thought that colors of purple and gold were adopted at the suggestion of one of the board members whose Chillicothe class colors were purple and gold. The mascot name of “The Shermans” was later adopted when Supt. McMahon, former general in the United States Army, was superintendent of the Unioto School. Since Unioto lies just opposite the former site of WWI Camp Sherman, the suggestion of “The Shermans” was unanimously accepted by the student body. The Tank emblem became likewise a fitting symbol for the school. ¹

In May of 1937, the Unioto High School graduated its first senior class of eight members. ¹

One Room School Houses of the District¹The Hurst School, Egypt Pike and Cattail RoadThe Roush’s School, Stone RoadThe Bowdle School, Morrison and Albright RoadsThe Andersonville School, Andersonville RoadThe Dunlap School, Route 104Sulpher Lick School, near Maple Grove HotelSchool at the Ross County InfirmaryPolk Hollow School, Polk Hollow RoadThe Steel School, Belleview Hill and Plyley’s LaneShady Grove School, Plyley’s LanePleasant Valley School, Pleasant ValleyFrenchtown School, FrenchtownTootle SchoolSpringbank SchoolBier’s Run School

School Construction, Renovations 1936-2003: [1] 1936 – School erected on Egypt Pike1957 – New Elementary School, with an addition in 19611973 – Intermediate Learning Center erected1973 – New High School1995 – Old High school renovated for use as Junior High School2002 – New Elementary School2002 – New Junior High School 2002 – New additions to High School2003 – Demolition to old Elementary School

References

¹ - http://www.uniotoalumni.com/school_history.htm

External links

* [http://www.unioto.k12.oh.us/ District Website]
* [http://www.drc.state.oh.us/Public/CCI.htm CCI]
* [http://www.drc.state.oh.us/Public/rci.htm RCI]
* [http://www.chillicothe.va.gov/ VA Hospital]
* [http://www.nps.gov/hocu/ Mound City]