“Henderson Daily Gleaner,” June, 1925:
At a meeting of the board of education on the
evening of the second of July, 1906, a committee
appointed to look into the matter of establishing manual training in the schools reported that there were insufficient funds to do so. Dr. L. A. King,
Supt. McCartney and Dr. M. C. Dunn composed this committee.
On the evening of July 3, 1906, there was a hurry-up called meeting of the board. At the July 3rd meeting James R. Barret appeared and presented the deed to the Adams property to the Board of Education. It was on his request that this called meeting was held. All the members of the board were present except one.
There was only one condition attached, and that was that manual training should be taught in the school, and according to the deed unless it was, the property would revert to James R. Barret or his heirs.
On the morning of July 4, 1906, the citizens of
Henderson were most agreeably happily startled by the great and magnificent gift of James R. Barret to the cause of education in thia city. The Adams property well known to all Hendersonians, is given as a manual training school and is to be an essential part of the school systen of the city.
The Gleaner of July 4th, 1906, describes the
property and its value as follows:
“The property donated by Mr. Barret which by his action Tuesday night comes into possession of the public for school purposes, is situated directly opposite the high school building on the corner of Washington and Adams streets. It fronts on Washington street 170 feet, and runs back on Adams street 465 feet and contains about two acres.
The building was originally erected by Joseph Adams during civil war times at a cost in the neighborhood of one hundred thousand dollars.
“Eminent architects who have examined the building within the past few years pronounce it one of the best constructed buildings it has ever been their pleasure to examine. The building and grounds are valued at twenty-five thousand dollars.”
The deed to the property was recorded on July 24th, 1905.
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