Scioto Village School for Girls

January 1, 2011 at 4:51 pm (Uncategorized)

I have been somewhat amazed at how much interest has been shown in my post regarding the Girls Industrial School or, as it was later known, Scioto Village School for Girls. Like the Boys Industrial School/Fairfield School for Boys, the girls lived in “cottages”  that were, more or less, based on their social maturity levels. Of course, this system broke down whenever the institution became overcrowded and a newly admitted girl would then have to be placed in the first available bed.

Over the years, the names of the cottages changed as old ones were torn down and new ones were built. However, here is a list of some of them taken from a 1970 Sci-Lites High School Yearbook: Ohio, Scioto, Mac, Galloway, Hayes, Woodbine, Allman, Buckeye, Hunter, Mapledale, Davey, Sherwood, and Terrace. The girls attended school and also participated in such vocational programs as home economics, laundry (“fabric services”), cosmetology, and needle trades.

At one time, the institution had a fully operational maternity ward and a number of babies were born there. Not far from the hospital was a cemetery. A number of girls had died at G.I.S.  during the great influenza pandemic that swept the country during the early part of the 20th century. Apparently, there was no one who wanted or could afford to claim their bodies.

Somewhere, I have a handful of postcards picturing scenes at G.I.S. When I locate them, I will post them to my blog. For a correctional institution, it was a remarkably pretty place. I had an office in the school that overlooked the Scioto River, which was a stone’s throw away.