Antietam's History

• The first school in the 1880’s in the Borough was at Friedensburg Road and Carsonia Avenue.  It was called the Wentzel Public School.

• The Woodvale Primary School was then built at 2319 Perkiomen Avenue closing the Wentzel School.  This is now a dress shop, and was dance studio. The rear of this building has a business located in it and is behind our school.

• The first wing of a new elementary school at 24th and Grant Street was begun in 1895 by the Lower Alsace School Board (there was no Mt. Penn Borough).

• The Mt. Penn Borough was incorporated in 1903 and formed a School Board.

• In 1907, a two-year high school was added to the elementary school.  In 1908, a four-year high school curriculum was added with the first HS graduation in 1909.

• Another wing was added to the old school in 1915.  By 1923 there were 8 elementary grades and 4 high school grades in the building with 240 elementary children and 70 high school students.
   
• In 1924 the first Kindergarten was established.

• The high school was built at 25th and Filbert Streets in 1924 including a Principal’s Office, 4 classrooms, a gym, and a Board Room, to which additions over the years were added.
  In 1924 the first Kindergarten was established.

• In 1928 the High School added the Filbert side of the building.

• In 1939 the A-Field was purchased for $11,000.  In that year an auditorium/Gymnasium combo and 3 classrooms were added to the High School.

• In 1968, a new elementary school was built surrounding the old elementary built in 1885 and last renovated in 1923.  This building had 13 classrooms, a library, and a gymnasium/auditorium/cafeteria.  It also had  an office, a nurse’s suite, and a kitchen.

• In 1975, the Woodrow Wilson Elementary School opened as the renovated Antietam Middle School housing grades 6-7-8.  Grade 5 was added the following year. 

• The Middle School building was closed in 1983 and the 5th and 6th grade students moved to the Mt. Penn Elementary Center.  The 7th and 8th moved into the Mt. Penn High School.

• All elementary students moved back to the Mt. Penn Elementary School due to the fact that the Pennside Building had been sold to Trinity Church to house their Learning Center.  Prior to the sale the Pennside Elementary School had served as the Lower Alsace school housing elementary to 8th grade students.  These students went to Mt. Penn High School for 9th - 12th grade.

• The closed Middle School building is now the current Middle/Senior High School opening in 1989 as the Mt. Penn High School was closed.  The Middle School sat for 7 years unused.

• In 1989, a new wing on Grant Street of 6 classrooms was added to the elementary school.

• In 1996, the elementary school was renovated adding 9 classrooms, a computer lab, a gymnasium, and a new library to the school, as we know it today.