East Wheeling’s Clay School to Be Demolished Later this Year

For more than 75 years the 83,000-square-foot Clay School has stood three stories tall on the corner of 15^th and Wood streets, but that tenure soon will end now that the structure has been donated to the City of Wheeling.

Darryl Baynes, who purchased the former school for $65,000 in 2004, surrendered ownership late last year after exhausting all efforts to transform the 35-room structure into a science and community center. According to information offered from the Ohio County Public Library, Clay School opened in the mid-1940s as an elementary/junior high school with an auditorium and gymnasium.

“Darryl Baynes tried for years to gain the funding that was needed for the renovation and remodeling, but for whatever reasons, the money didn’t materialize, and he had to get a teaching position at a university outside this area,” City Manager Bob Herron said. “But he did gift the property to the city so the land could be used for something that will be a positive for the East Wheeling neighborhood.

“If there is interest from the private sector once the building is down and cleared, that would be great, but there also could be some public uses for it, as well, that would complement the J.B. Chambers complex,” he explained. “What we do know is that it will be an improvement based on what is standing on that property now. I know the former owner had a lot of plans for Clay School, and it was a very good idea to transform it into a science and community center for children.”

At the time Baynes acquired the building from Ohio County Schools, the J.B. Chambers Memorial Sports Complex did not exist. Instead, Clay School rested across from several dwellings, most of which were dilapidated and ripe for demolition. In fact, at least 40 demolitions have erased blight on both sides of 15^th Street.

Except for the rotting schoolhouse, that is, but the process, Herron explained, has begun.

“Right before Christmas we had a phase-one environmental review completed on the building, and then we took possession of it. The next step that is being done right now is the asbestos inspection, and we do know there is some in the building,” he said. “We’ll do one or two more inspections on the structure, and then we’ll be collecting asbestos abatement and demolition bids on that building.

“That property is right across 15th Street from the J.B. Chambers Memorial Park, so we will see if there is interest from the private sector like there was before the pandemic. The thought at that time was a senior housing complex,” Herron explained. “I am not sure if those people are still interested in such a project, but right now our concentration is to get the site cleared.”

Potential Again

Once consolidation took place in 1976, the former Triadelphia and Wheeling high schools were turned into junior highs. That also is when Clay School was remodeled to house elementary school children more appropriately.

Clay finally was closed in 1992 and was never an active building again. Vandals have shattered the majority of the windows, most of the roof has collapsed on the building’s third floor, and a portion of the sidewalk has been barricaded because of falling debris.

There also is concern the demolition could have a negative impact on the houses that rest above the school along Wood and 14^th streets.

“The engineers will take a hard look at the rear of the former school to see if that hillside is being supported by the building,” Herron said. “After that is evaluated, we’ll be able to proceed with the demolition. What is possible, though, is that we could have to slope the back part and lose part of the area for development.

“There is a process when it comes to bringing down such a significant building as the former Clay School, and that process is underway,” he said. “Although there once was some promise for the structure, it’s been a vacant structure for a long time now, and the roof is not good, and there has been some vandalism that has taken place. That’s why the demolition will be a very positive thing for that community.”

The J.B. Chambers complex is a busy facility and only falls silent during the frigid months of the year, and in the last 12 months soccer, lacrosse, football, and yes, kickball leagues utilized the all-purpose field. Plus, Central Catholic High School and the Little Patriots football teams, and a semi-pro soccer team have held practices and some games on the corner of 15^th and Wood.

So, with the athletic facility across the street and economic development happening in a few areas of East Wheeling, the city manager expects interest will be high.

“And that school takes up a large area. It is a 100-by-300-foot site so there are a lot of square feet that would have a lot of potential once the structure is demolished,” Herron said. “The former Clay School is in a developing part of Wheeling because of what has been constructed in that area in the past few years. There have been a lot of positive things that have been occurring in East Wheeling.

“Not only is the demolition near completion along 19th Street, but Zeigenfelder’s continues to grow, the new Northwood center was built and has opened, and there has been some other construction in the area, too,” he said. “Plus, the City of Wheeling is about to start the construction of a new headquarters for our fire department, and that is a $7 million investment. Good things are happening in East Wheeling, and we expect it to continue.”