Eugene Field Elementary

The need for a new school in the unannexed, growing area now known as the Eugene Field School area was first formally expressed by a petition dated May 21, 1929 requesting that a portion of District 5 be attached to District 1 of the City of Wichita for school purposes only. There were controversies over the petition, but eventually a tract of land adjacent to the City of Wichita was attached for school purposes only. Of this tract, 16 lots at the corner of Central and Gordon streets were purchased by the Board of Education on November 6, 1930 for the sum of $2,000. Here two annex buildings from Stanley School were placed, forming three classrooms and two hallways. Because this land had been attached for school purposes only, the school building was without plumbing and central heating. A stove in each room, outdoor plumbing, and mud everywhere were the usual accommodations!

L.W. Mayberry, Superintendent of Schools, suggested the name, Eugene Field, in honor of the American poet and it was so adopted by the Board of Education. When the school opened September 1, 1930 the 110 children enrolled had to attend Martinson School for two weeks while the “new” building was being placed on a foundation. The following year Central Road was sanded by civic-minded patrons who furnished tools and labor so the children could more easily reach the school,

In 1934-35 another annex was brought to the site to serve as a kindergarten classroom with 30 children enrolled. By 1935 enrollment had increased to 150, necessitating the transfer of 30 children to Martinson School classrooms; but the next year, when Martinson's increased enrollment caused the return of these students, the kindergarten program at Field had to be discontinued. It was restored in 1937-38 when still another annex was added to the school.

The Board of Education, realizing that a larger and more permanent structure was need, voted in 1937-38 to build a seven-room brick building at the corner of Clayton and St. Louis. This building was ready for the opening of the 1938-39 school year.

During the school year 1948-49, 300 children were attending Eugene Field School, and the auditorium was divided into two classrooms. As the enrollment soared, the faculty was increased and the curriculum expanded. Hot lunches were served; instrumental music, week-day Bible School, and lip reading were offered. A five-room permanent addition was added in 1950 to relieve the crowded conditions.

The muddy situation improved in 1949 when storm sewers were laid and pavement poured for two blocks on St. Louis and for one black on Clayton. Safety measures were increased in 1952-53 when flasher signals were installed at the intersection of St. Paul and the Missouri Pacific railroad tracks, Safety Sal signs were placed on St. Paul, and a four-way stop sign was located at Central and St. Paul.

Enrollment peaked in 1953-54 at 711, and Eugene Field School became the third largest school in enrollment in the City of Wichita, causing children to attend school on the "shift" system until shortly after Thanksgiving when new annexes were completed. School boundaries were shortened and Black School was constructed, dropping enrollment in 1954-55 to approximately 400 children.

When McCormick was closed as an attendance center in 1992, Field absorbed some of those students.

At the beginning of the 1988-89 year, sixth grade students were incorporated into the middle school program, leaving a K-5 enrollment of approximately 225 students.

In 1980 all windows were replaced with thermal pane steel windows. In 1991 the boiler was replaced.

At the April 8, 1996 meeting, the Board of Education approved the closing of Field School at the end of the 1995-96 school year, and students sent to Lawrence, Franklin, and Stanley.