Jonesboro’s old J.C. Knight School stood for more than a century, but its glory days were long behind it by the time I first visited. After 1977, only its newer wings saw regular use- first as part of J.C. Knight Elementary, then later as a private Christian school. Meanwhile, the building’s historic core sat quietly watching the years pass. By last spring, the writing was on the wall: demolition bids went out in May and the wrecking crews arrived. Today, the landmark is gone save for a lone north-facing wall that, for now, still hints at what once stood there.
The first high school in Jonesboro was built in the 1880s and served students from grades 1-12. It was a two-story structure with a massive entry arch, raised basement, and central tower1. Unfortunately, a devastating fire swept through around the turn of the century. In 1903, a new building rose from its ashes- the very building that stood until recently.
The second Jonesboro High School -later renamed after a prominent local doctor- was a striking two-story structure with a raised basement and attic. It blended architectural influences in a way that made it a landmark. A heavy stone base, wide sills, and a grand entry arch nodded to the Richardson Romanesque style, while its brick walls, hipped dormers, and asymmetrical floor plan leaned toward the emerging Prairie School movement. No matter how you classified it, though, the building made a statement.
As you approached Jonesboro from Matthews, the old J.C. Knight building seemed to rise out of the landscape, commanding attention long before you reached town. Its sheer size and bold silhouette filled your windshield like an elderly sentinel standing watch over generations of students and passersby.
I still remember the first time I saw it, about ten or twelve years ago. The afternoon light caught its brickwork just right, and for a moment, my random drive felt like stepping back in time. My immediate thought was how lucky Jonesboro was to have a structure like that- an architectural anchor that told the story of the community before you even crossed onto the community’s brick Main Street.
The building served as Jonesboro’s High School until 1948. That year, the school districts of Jonesboro, Gas City, and Mill Township consolidated to form the Mississinewa Community School Corporation2. As a result, a new high school was built on the west side of Gas City3. Twenty-seven kids were part of Jonesboro’s last class4. As an elementary, the building was expanded with a four-room addition in 19545, then an eight-room addition in 19586. Unfortunately, tragedy struck the following year when a sixteen-year-old using a match to find his way through the darkened gymnasium accidentally burned it down7. A replacement all-purpose room was built in short order8.
Mississinewa Community Schools continued to use J.C. Knight’s modern wings until 20019. Eventually, the district sold the building to the City of Jonesboro for a dollar10. Around 2004, the city transferred the property to the King’s Academy, a private Christian school. With plenty of volunteer support, its boosters began renovating its 1950s-era areas.
King’s Academy has subsisted in the newer part of the old high school ever since. Still, after more than a century of service through fires, expansions, consolidations, and reuses, the old Jonesboro High School stood and remained. Now it’s gone. Driving into town, its absence is striking! The rubble is a sobering reminder that even the most iconic structures in small towns aren’t guaranteed permanence. Still, memories, photos, and stories passed down mean that Jonesboro’s old J.C. Knight school will remain.
Sources Cited
1 Cox, H. (2019, March 20). An important marker. The Marion Chronicle Tribune. Pp. 1, 3.
2 Stock Sale Drive Opened For Mississinewa School (1948, June 11). The Marion Chronicle Tribune. p. 1.
3 Students Move Into New Mississinewa School (1950, November 22). The Marion Chronicle Tribune. p. 1.
4 27 Graduate At Jonesboro (1948, May 26). The Marion Leader-Tribune. P. 1.
5 Jonesboro School Plans Open House (1958, September 27). The Marion Leader-Tribune. p. 12.
6 (See footnote 9).
7 Boys Who Started Trestle Fire Released. The Marion Leader-Tribune. p. 13.
8 Work Starts On 10-Room Gas City School Addition (1959, March 25). The Marion Chronicle Tribune. p. 1.
9 Driscoll, S. F. (2004, July 27). Volunteers help propel work at old J.C. Knight building. The Marion Chronicle Tribune. Pp. 1-2.
10 (See footnote 9).
