Barker Elementary School
Barker Elementary School was a Birmingham school located on the corner of 13th Avenue and 23rd Street North.
The central portion of Barker School was built in 1903, with two wings added in 1910. By 1923 the school, with 16 classrooms of varying size, had an enrollment of 972 students in grades 1 through 7 and was judged to be "overcrowded" in the Board's survey of that year.
The school was destroyed by a fire which started in the boiler room during the early morning of March 14, 1941. The fire was discovered by Ralph Blue, a Birmingham Age-Herald paper carrier who noticed flames at 5:10 AM while working his route. Companies from Fire Station No. 1, No. 4, No. 5, No. 9, No. 11, No. 22 responded to the alarm, which Chief Alf Brown described as 'one of the meanest fires we've had in a long time." The flames, fueled by pine-framed walls was conducted from the boiler room to the roof through heat transfer ducts. The firefighters' efforts were hampered by the steep hilltop site.
At the time of the fire, 527 students were enrolled in the school. They were transferred to Seventeenth Avenue, Norwood, Martin and Powell Schools.
The insurance settlement paid for a new 8-room addition to the Seventeenth Avenue School. The damaged building was demolished and the cleared site became Barker Park.
Principals
References
- Cruikshank, George H. (1920) History of Birmingham and Its Environs: A Narrative Account of Their Historical Progress, Their People, and Their Principal Interests 2 volumes. Chicago, Illinois: Lewis Publishing Company. - via Birmingham Public Library Digital Collections
- Birmingham Board of Education (1923) The Birmingham School Survey.
- "Early Morning Blaze Destroys Old Barker School" (March 14, 1941) The Birmingham News - via Birmingham Public Library Digital Collections
- Kelly, Betty (March 14, 1941) "Barker Pupils Deeply Moved" The Birmingham News - via Birmingham Public Library Digital Collections
- "Barker Classes To Continue" (March 15, 1941) Birmingham Age-Herald - via Birmingham Public Library Digital Collections