The Old Princeton School is a former school building located in the Village of Princeton outside of New Castle, Pennsylvania

New Castle, Pennsylvania

New Castle is a city in Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, United States, northwest of Pittsburgh and near the Pennsylvania-Ohio border just east of Youngstown, Ohio; in 1910, the total population was 36,280; in 1920, 44,938; and in 1940, 47,638. The population has fallen to 26,309 according to the...

. It was constructed in 1876, 35 years after the Village of Princeton was founded. The school has been operated as both a high school and an elementary school during its years of operation. The building and surrounding property was purchased by Carlson Mining around 1977 for use as an office for its operations. The company also used the garages behind the school for storage. After Carlson Mining ceased mining operations, Jack Carlson (owner of Carlson Mining) began renting out the gymnasium and the old classrooms as office space.

Years as a School

The building was erected in 1876 and served as a secondary school until Laurel High School was constructed in Hickory Township. The school was then operated as an elementary school in addition to two other elementary schools in the Laurel School District. Eastbrook Middle School served as the intermediate school for grades 5 and 6. The school remained in operation until the construction of Laurel Elementary School which replaced the Princeton Elementary, Hickory Elementary, Harlansburg Elementary, and Eastbrook Middle School. The building and property was considered as a future location for the Princeton Volunteer Fire Dept., but was instead purchased by Carlson Mining circa 1977.

Carlson Mining/Jack Carlson

Founded in 1963, Carlson Mining was a strip mining business with approximately 10 to 19 employees operating in New Castle, PA. The company's owner, Jack Carlson, purchased the abandoned Princeton Elementary School for use as a central office and equipment storage. After phasing out his Strip Mining operations, Jack Carlson began running a trucking service out of the building. He also began renting the building out to the public, and renovated two of the classrooms to be rented out as office space. The offices were used by ProTech Paving for several years.

Community activities

The school and its grounds have been used extensively by the community for recreational purposes. The original baseball field that was constructed for use by students still stands and is used as a practice field for both baseball and softball. The field was also used for a time by the Slippery Rock Twp. Volunteer Fire Dept. as grounds for their horse shows. These shows subsequently moved to the Scott Twp. Volunteer Fire Dept. The field beside the baseball field has more recently been used as a soccer field, although the Laurel Soccer Club has constructed a new soccer park in Hickory township.

A weekly pickup basketball game is played every Tuesday around 7:30pm. It also hosts a baseball clinic.

Concerts

Most recently, the school has become renowned for its concerts staged by local musicians earning it the informal title of the "School of Rock". In 2006, a local production company called Dynamic Productions produced a concert featuring a few local bands. This show was set to compete with then-popular "Dr. Glo" who was known for his shows featuring local musicians. The show was a success, and gave the school a new purpose as a concert venue. Dynamic Productions went on to produce two more shows at the school before giving up due to decreasing attendance. In June 2008, Dynamic Productions teamed up with another local promoter, Glenn Hutchison, to produce "June Jam". This show was a success and is considered by many to be the show that kick-started the local music scene back into action. Subsequently, Hutchison created his own production company named "Clutch Productions" and continues producing shows at the venue at a rate of about 4-6 shows per year.