Today’s Austintown Middle School opened in 1916 as Austintown Centralized School. The

Today’s Austintown Middle School opened in 1916 as Austintown Centralized School. The original building had 10 classrooms, an auditorium and a gymnasium. It enrolled 267 pupils, who either walked to school or were taken in horse-drawn carriages.

Name changed to Fitch School in 1922, in honor of John H. Fitch, who had donated the site for the building. Eight rooms were added onto the building.

A gym, a boiler room, an auditorium and more classrooms were added in 1926.

City water and a concrete stadium were added in 1936. More classrooms and a sewer system were added in 1938.

Additions to Fitch School in 1946 and 1954 were necessary because of Austintown’s increasing population.

It became Austintown Middle School for grades five through eight in 1968 after a new Fitch High School opened.

Enrollment increased at the school after 1968 to more than 1,500 pupils, then decreased to the present enrollment of 960 pupils.

Source: Information provided for “Final Farewell”