Weeping Water Academy Social Hall & Thomas W. Meeske Genealogy Center
206 WEST H STREET
Congregational Church
1870 - 1886
On November 18, 1860, six residents of Weeping Water met with the Rev. John Todd to organize the First Congregational Church. Services were held in the school building or in the homes of its members. With the arrival of Rev. Fred Alley and his family in 1866, arose the need for a church parsonage. During his first year of service, the Alley’s lived in four different places, ranging from sharing a 2-room house with the Amos Tefft family in Avoca, to living above a corn crib. When the Alley’s moved to Crete in 1870, the new pastor, Rev. Simon Barrows, and his wife purchased the parsonage in order to give the congregation money to build its first church.
The cornerstone of the Early Gothic Revival style stone church was laid on July 18, 1870. According to church records, the building was copied from one in Germany. Lucius Reed cut the pointed panes of glass. The completed building was dedicated April 30, 1871.
Reverend George Hindley
Weeping Water Academy
1885 - 1914
In an effort to improve education in Weeping Water, Rev. George Hindley, along with some prominent citizens, established the Weeping Water Academy in 1885. The first class of 7 pupils commenced on September 22, 1885 with G. W. Noble serving as head instructor. The school became and remained identified with the Congregationalists, although the work was largely nondenominational. The Academy featured academic, scientific, and college preparatory courses of study, as well as vocal and instrumental training.
During the first term in 1885, 13 students attended classes in the leased Baptist Church building. In November 1885, the Congregationalists decided to construct a new church and sell the old church to the trustees of the Weeping Water Academy. In 1886, two frame classrooms were added to the north of the Academy building and the building itself was divided into three parts to form a combined library and classrooms. A wooden bell tower was later erected near the northeast corner.
As enrollment increased, other buildings were utilized or constructed with the largest being Hindley Hall. Hindley Hall was a girls dormitory for the Weeping Water Academy. It was designed by James Tyler & Son Architects in Lincoln. Local men Wm. Sperry and G. H. Dennis were awarded contracts for the construction. A cornerstone, including a time capsule, was laid in November 1903 and construction was completed by the start of the fall term in 1904. The 1906 Academy catalog advertised it as a new building and “an ideal school home for girls, convenient, and comfortable.” The rooms, furnished with two single iron beds and mattresses, washstands, dressers, chairs, and window shades, cost $4 per month.
In 1899, Dr. & Mrs. F. N. Gibson donated a two-story brick building to the Academy, which was named Gibson Hall. It housed classrooms and later men’s dorms on the second floor. (The building stood just north of the alley on the west side of Randolph Street between Eldora Aveune and H Street)
By the time World War I began, public education in the town had greatly improved and enrollment at the Academy decreased. In June 1914, the last class graduated and the Academy closed. Throughout its 29-year existence, nearly 1,500 pupils attended the Academy.
Weeping Water Public Library
1917 - 2011
Before the Weeping Water Academy officially closed in June 1914, there was already discussion of establishing a public library in the Academy building. Once the Academy closed its affairs in January 1917, they deeded the building to the Congregational Church, along with the books and a $1,000 library endowment fund. In turn, the city of Weeping Water leased the building for 25 years for $1 to use as the city’s public library.
Remodeling work commenced immediately, including excavation for a furnace room, installation of electric light fixtures, and the addition of a fireplace. On Wednesday evening, September 19, 1917, over 350 people attended the opening of the new Weeping Water Academy Library. The first librarian was Grace Countryman, an 1890 graduate of the Weeping Water Academy.
In 2002, local artists Mag Keckler, Norma Rupp, and Mary Rhodes covered the walls of the children’s room with a woodland scene mural. Sections of the murals were saved and are framed in the Thomas W. Meeske Genealogy Center. The library was located in the former Academy building until December 2011, when it moved to the refurbished Agricultural Society building.
Weeping Water Academy Social Hall & Thomas W. Meeske Genealogy Center
2024
Twelve years of hard work and fundraising to reopen the former Academy/Library building has paid off! The Weeping Water Academy Social Hall & Thomas W. Meeske Genealogy Center is now ready to be leased for meetings and events. We still have some work to do, including getting the genealogy center ready, adding some furnishings & history exhibits, and installation of the memorial brick garden. We couldn’t have accomplished all of this without the tireless efforts of our volunteers, the generosity of the late Tom Meeske and the Meeske family, Weeping Water Euclid Lodge #97, and everyone who purchased a brick for the memorial garden.
