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Murch Elementary School has a long history of educational excellence and community support. In the 1920s, neighborhood parents formed the District's first Home and School Association to press for construction of a new school. After four temporary buildings were erected on the Murch site, the HSA pushed for a permanent, more satisfactory solution. The result was the building we know today, dedicated on May 2, 1930 and named after Ben W. Murch, a prominent and beloved local educator.
Mr. Murch came to Washington from Maine in 1887 and served as a principal and administrator for DC Public Schools until 1927. His favorite saying was, "Give the world the best you have and the best will come back to you." This philosophy has been shared and emphasized with each generation of Murch students.
You can read a detailed history of the school in A History of Ben W. Murch Elementary School 1930 – 1990, written by Ann Kessler, a Murch parent and historian. A bound version is also available in the school library.
What Was Here Before Murch?
When the construction crew dug up the soccer field this summer, they found this old Quaker State Motor Oil sign. According to collectors of "petroliana", this is a rare piece of vintage advertising, but how did it get here? Did there used to be a gas station where our school stands? We've researched and here's what we've come up with:
In the late 1800s, this part of Washington was "the country" and the first school built on the site was the Grant Road School for African-American students. It closed in 1903 and was used as a warehouse. Then the city built four temporary school buildings that were horrible. According to a history of Murch written by Ann Kessler in 1990, these portable buildings "had no electric lights, so no reading or school work could be done on dark days. In winter, the children froze, and in the spring and fall, they were too hot. Because the roof leaked, drops of water would fall down on the children's papers on rainy days. The portables were also infested with such creatures as rats, mice, roaches, assorted bugs, an occasional dog or cat, and possibly a snake. Finally, in 1928 a rare tornado struck Washington and blew off the roof of one of the portables."
The first wing of the new Ben W. Murch Elementary school on Davenport Street welcomed its first students in 1930. But, based on what we can uncover, there doesn't appear to have ever been a gas station or garage on what became our soccer field. So, how this old metal sign happened to be buried here remains a mystery. Maybe it blew here from Oz!
-- Adelaide Kaiser, 3rd grade
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