The first high school in Lindenhurst was built and opened in 1931, on Wellwood Avenue. It was designed by Amityville architect Lewis Inglee (1886-1960) who also designed the old Babylon Town Hall on Montauk Highway, along with many other local public buildings. Very large and modern for its time, the high school finally gave local students a nearby place to continue their education beyond eighth grade. Before this, students wishing to continue their education past the eighth grade would need to transfer to a neighboring school district, such as Babylon. The school was built on former farmland, purchased by the district a few years earlier. Below is an early photo of the school from the time of its opening. To the right of the building is a farmhouse that originally belonged to Otto Krueger, who had been a manufacturer of artificial flowers often used in making ladies’ hats.
Below is a photo of the old farmhouse from the other direction, looking North toward where the school would soon be built. In the early 1920’s, during prohibition, the farm was purchased by former brewer Otto Eichhammer. The property had a large farmhouse, windmill and icehouse, and Otto raised chickens, geese, ducks, cows, and horses and had an apple orchard for making cider.Below is a postcard showing the new school building shortly after it opened:Below is a photo of the first high school principle, Dr. Edward W. Bower (1884-1976), with his secretary, Eleanor Klein, on the left:A photo below from the mid-1950’s shows the small office building which replaced the old farmhouse and still stands just to the right of the school, and a still unpaved Lee Avenue further to the right. The rear school extension and parking has yet to be built, and neither has the present day Alleghany Avenue Elementary School, built in 1958 just east of the athletic field. By 1969, the student population had grown enough to necessitate the opening of a new high school to the north, opened in 1969 on Charles Street, after which the old high school became the present day Lindenhurst Middle School.
