Students and Faculty at Female Seminary Building, ca. 1871-1880

The Ohio Central Normal School was housed in the old Worthington Female Seminary building on the east side of High Street in downtown Worthington, Ohio. The seminary closed in 1857 as students chose to go to the new Ohio Wesleyan Female College in Delaware. The Normal School opened in the 1870’s, a time when the need for trained teachers was arising. Ohio lagged far behind other states in recognizing the need for trained teachers. The Ohio Teachers Association, formed in 1847, opened some schools. City school districts began to demand educated and more highly trained teachers, and so a market grew. Private normal schools were started to help fill the demand. Large cities such as Columbus and Cincinnati also started their own district normal schools, and the competition brought about the demise of many private normal schools such as this one.

Contributor: Worthington Historical Society

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