The Rayen School Archives

The Rayen School ca 1912. Public Domain via Wikipedia

Having written about several other high schools in Youngstown, it is time for me to write about Youngstown’s first high school, The Rayen School. While it is referred to as Rayen High School, including in the image above from 1912, proud alumni have told me that the real name is “The Rayen School” and so that is the name I will use in this article.

The Rayen School’s name and origins go back to Judge William Rayen, one of Youngstown’s early founders, who died childless in 1854. Regretting his own lack of education in his youth, he left a gift for the youth of Youngstown in his will, where he wrote:

“As this school is designed for the benefit of all youth of the township, without regard to religious denominations or differences, and none may be excluded for such or the like reasons or grounds, I hereby prohibit the teachings therein of the peculiars religions, tenets, or doctrine, of any denomination or sect whatever; at the same time I enjoin that no others be employed as teachers than persons of good moral character and habit who by precept and example will instill into the minds of those under their charge the importance of industry, morality, and integrity in all the relations of life.”

He left a sizable bequest for his day, $31,390 which would be $1,140,163.27 in 2023. In 1866, The Rayen School was opened at Wood and Wick. The distinctive red brick was the work of Youngstown’s premiere bricklayer of the day, P. Ross Berry, a Black bricklayer and architect. The original building was expanded over the years and served as Youngstown’s only public high school until South High School was opened in 1911.

The continued growth of the city led to the need for a new, larger facility, and The Rayen School moved to its new building at 250 Benita Avenue in 1922. The old structure served for a time as an elementary school and the home of the Rayen School of Engineering for what was then Youngstown College. Later, it was purchased by the Youngstown City School District for its headquarters, which were moved to the new East High School when it opened. The superintendent’s office is still in the original Rayen building and it serves as the home of the Youngstown Rayen Early College High School.

According to Wikipedia, The Rayen School continued to operate on funds generated from the Rayen, and the name “The Rayen School” became the popular name for the school in the 1940’s. The school was widely known during this period for the quality of its teachers and its rigorous academic standards. Edward Manning, from the class of 1933, in an oral history interview stated:

“We were very fortunate; we had all of the teachers that had taught at the old Rayen. Those were some of the best teachers in Northeastern Ohio. The teachers at Rayen would lecture and we had to take notes just as in college. We had one teacher, Miss Wallis, an English teacher she was a world traveler. She could tell you about England, France and other European countries. She has been to the Louvre in France and any of those big art galleries in Italy. She brought that outside information into the class, just the same as the college professors. Most of the teachers we had there were way above average.“

Over its history, The Rayen School had 19 principals and graduated over 50,000 students. Some of the graduates about whom I’ve written include William Stewart, the first black legislator from Youngstown, Joe Flynn, most famous for his role in McHale’s Navy, and François Clemmons, the talented singer and Officer Clemmons on Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood. Albert Warner, one of the four Warner Brothers, also graduated from The Rayen School.

Rayen Stadium was built in 1924, and also served as the home field for Ursuline High School and for Youngstown State until Stambaugh Stadium was built. It was the site of football history when Dike Beede first implemented the use of the penalty flag on October 17, 1941 in a game against Oklahoma City University. The stadium fell into disuse in the 1980’s and was restored as Jack Antonucci Field in 2012, honoring another Rayen alumnus.

The school did not survive that long, closing and being razed in 2007, due to declining enrollments. Before closure, a 65 foot mural commemorating Rayen history, painted by art instructor John Benninger and his students in the 1958-59 academic year, was removed, originally destined for Rayen Middle School, which was never built. Instead, it has been cleaned and resides at the Tyler Mahoning Valley History Center.

The Rayen School had a great 141 year history as Youngstown’s first high school. If you went to Rayen, I’d love to hear of your memories of the school.

To read other posts in the Growing Up in Working Class Youngstown series, just click “On Youngstown.” Enjoy!

Judge William Rayen

The name Rayen is one I encountered often in Youngstown. There was Rayen Avenue. Chaney would play Rayen in City Series sports. When we attended Youngstown State, home games were still played at Rayen Stadium. The university has a Rayen School of Engineering, which at one time used classrooms in the original Rayen School building. We used to walk down Wick Avenue from Youngstown State to downtown past the original Rayen School, which serves as the home of the Youngstown Board of Education.

So who was Judge William Rayen? Born in Kent County, Maryland October 1, 1776, he and his wife, Margaret Caree Rayen operated a mercantile in Westmoreland, Pennsylvania from 1796-1799. They moved to Youngstown by 1802 or earlier, and so qualify as early settlers. The first Youngstown township meeting to elect township officials was held in Rayen’s home on April 5, 1802. He operated a tavern and mercantile at Spring Common, near where the B & O Railroad station was eventually located.

He fought in the War of 1812 as a colonel in the First Regiment, Third Brigade of the Western Reserve. Returning to Youngstown, he filled various township positions including township clerk, postmaster (running the post office out of his store), and eventually an associate judge on the Trumbull County bench (before Mahoning County was a separate county). In 1840, the state legislature appointed him as president of the board of public works for the state. He was a director of the Pennsylvania and Ohio Canal Company, a stockholder in the Cleveland and Mahoning Railroad Company, the first in the valley, and first president of the Mahoning County Bank, the first bank in Youngstown. He owned extensive lands with stables, orchards, and livestock, including merino sheep.

Both of William and Margaret’s children died in infancy, and Margaret died in 1826. In later life, he was often seen sitting on a bench under a large tree in front of his home, hands folded on top of a gold-headed cane. He would talk to whoever came by and one account says he was often surrounded by young people who felt free to discuss their problems with him.

He regretted that he had not had more opportunities for education in his youth and was concerned about educational opportunities being available to the poorest youth. When he passed in 1854 it was learned that he had left a bequest that came to $31,390 to establish a public high school in Youngstown, the first in the city. In his will, he wrote:

In an era where schools were sectarian, and excluded those who did not subscribe to a particular faith, Rayen was forward-looking in making educational opportunity open to all without distinction. Dying childless, he made the children of Youngstown his heirs.

The Rayen School as it appeared shortly after it opened.

In 1866, the vision behind his bequest was realized when The Rayen School opened at Wick and Wood Street. Over time, the building was added to but still stands today as a tribute to the vision of Judge William Rayen. The words “Industry, Morality, Integrity became the motto of Rayen High School. In 1923, the high school moved to Cora and Benita until it closed in 2007. The stadium lives on and has been renovated, with the field being named the Jack Antonucci Field, in honor of a Rayen alumnus. The name “Rayen” lives on throughout the city, reminding us of this city father and his vision for public education.