Mt. Pleasant Elementary School will host its centennial celebration on Sept. 21. Telegraph file photo

NASHUA – While Mt. Pleasant Elementary School is preparing for its centennial celebration, its history is far greater than the past 100 years.

Its history as a school and core community attraction in the diverse and unique original center of Nashua’s industrial and housing revolution has had thousands of students from all walks of life. From walking through the doors receiving their first exposure to modern society to making them better human beings and anchoring their life’s ambitions.

The address of 10 Manchester St. has a very rich history. The lot where Mt. Pleasant is located was purchased in 1849 from city founder Daniel Abbot for $500. Construction of the four-room brick school cost $6,000 and Mt. Pleasant was completed in 1850.

This was planned and completed for School District #2 in what was then Nashville (south of the Nashua River) and Nashville (north of the Nashua River), which later combined to form the town of Nashua. The new school was an instant success, attracting more students than anticipated. Mt. Pleasant housed primary, intermediate and high school levels initially consisting of approximately 275 students.

In the early-1850s, the school became a center for parental, educational and student activity with the school opening its doors for frequent parental visits and involvement. It is a collaborative foundation that Mt. Pleasant continues to provide its neighborhoods close to two centuries later. Neighborhoods that were designed and built for both the mill management and the mill workers. A school where children of both the business leaders and the immigrant laborers could learn together in one safe setting to collaborate the differences of society.

It is a story that continues to this day with a mix of ethnic, religious, cultural and social/economic diversity gathering in one location for the greater good. It is a location that serves neighborhoods without bussing and gathers the youngest and most impressionable children from various families to its protective brick walls. This in itself is a testament to the city’s support and the dedication of the school’s outstanding staff and leadership in the turbulent world in which we live today.

In 1871, fire destroyed the original brick building, displacing students and faculty to other locations in the city where they would continue school for the next two years. The city appropriated $40,000 for a new brick school in its place which was completed in 1873. It was state-of-the-art and featured eight large rooms, four on each floor, a spacious hall in the French room and had steam heat, which was a luxury in those days. Once again, the lure of the new school attracted more students than originally anticipated crowding classrooms but yet, constantly afforded them a solid education. What is interesting was that milk from local farms was introduced as a way to nourish students at a common gathering place each day. Statistics started to show that nutrition provided greater health and weight gain to students that were undernourished.

The second school building served the surrounding neighborhoods well for 50 years when the building was deemed in disrepair in the early-1920s. In 1923, the building was torn down, once again displacing students and staff to various locations around Nashua. The city realized that 10 Manchester St. was the perfect setting with the diverse population and walking distance for so many students, that it immediately funded a third school on the site which we see today. It was completed in 1924 for $206,000. This new school consisted of 14 rooms and an assembly hall. It was officially dedicated in 1925 with the cornerstone dating 1924. This new building was once again more populated than expected with about 426 students enrolling.

In the years since the current school was built, children have gathered during the Great Depression and purchased World War II bonds in the 1940s with nickels and dimes. In the 1950s, air raid drills were practiced and dress codes were implemented. Student crossing guards were on patrol to assure all students arrived and departed safely each day.

One hundred years of societal, American and world uncertainties were kept in check and safe in this very building for the neighborhood children by hundreds of dedicated educators. A feeling one gets today when walking the halls of this wonderful treasure.

In the early-1980s, the question of closing Mt. Pleasant was looming among statisticians and accountants. The numbers were reviewed over and over and with the support of students, parents, teachers, civic leaders and School Board members, the decision was made to not only retain the current building, but expand it with two new wings, one on either side of the grand 1924 building. This provided improved educational opportunities on par with other city schools and ultimately spared the taxpayers the cost of a whole new building. The two additions were completed in the mid-1980s at a cost of $3.3 million.

For nearly 200 years, the school at 10 Manchester St. has served the city well. It has been the core of the community for many calling Nashua home for the first time and others that have been in the city for generations. The lives, support, enthusiasm, dedication and commitment that have been the pillars for the last 100 years have only just begun for the next 100 years serving one of the most successfully integrated, diverse and supportive neighborhoods that any city will ever know. What drives the success of Mt. Pleasant isn’t an obituary from the past 100 years, but a birth announcement for the next 100 years.

A centennial celebration will be held at the school on Sept. 21 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. sponsored by the Mt. Pleasant Parent Teacher Organization. All are welcome, past, present and future to experience, for those few hours, the fellowship and pride that the students, parents and staff of Mt. Pleasant have shared every day for the last 100 years.