About this collection:

➤ Designed by Wheeling architect, Frederick Faris, Wheeling High School opened in 1911 on Chapline Street, between 20th and 21st Street in Center Wheeling. Following a fire in January 1914, Wheeling High School was rebuilt and reopened in September 1915 and continued to serve the city’s public high school students until 1976, when the new Wheeling Park High School opened. The building was razed in April 1984.

The Wheeling High School time capsule collection contains the original copper time capsule that was set into the cornerstone at Wheeling High School during its construction in 1909. Inside the capsule in an inscription reading “Made by D.H. Bayha.” The cornerstone was salvaged as the building was later demolished, and the time capsule was opened on May 8, 1984 as group of Wheeling High School Alumni gathered to watch. The collection contains several photographs, including one of the cornerstone dedication ceremony in 1909, and three documenting the opening of the time capsule in 1984. The original contents of the box, including newspapers, Wheeling High yearbooks, Wheeling made stogies, and lists of students and those who worked on the construction of the building, were transferred to the West Virginia Department of Culture and History. The collection at the OCPL contains some reproductions of these items as well as a photograph of the original cornerstone, which is located on private property in the Whitmar Hills neighborhood outside of Wheeling, WV.

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