Picturing the Past

Picturing the Past Story and photos: Mayor Greg Wright The journey began a couple of years ago to find out where the old corner stone that sits in front of 805 North Main St. in Princeton came from. Local art teacher Jim Wallace pointed out that the old hunk of limestone had the names of several local leaders including the name Clifford Shopbell, as well as the date of 1916, but did not identify where it came from. Mr. Wallace stated the stone was there when he was a youngster and lived across Main Street. After consulting with local historian Jim Munford, we were able to come to the conclusion that it had to do with the remodeling of Harrison School later known as Baldwin Heights School. After doing some research, it was determined that James Grable and his family lived at 805 North Main during the 1960’s, and after talking to his daughter, Jody Grable Memmer, it was determined that the stone was acquired from the Baldwin Heights School by her father sometime in the 1960’s. The cornerstone has set in front of 808 N. Main Street ever since. Clifford Shopbell, the architect for the 1916 Harrison School remodeling project, was a locally successful architect who designed several famous buildings in

Princeton and Evansville. Clifford Shopbell was an 1898 graduate of Princeton High School and his father George Shopbell was a local contractor who was also involved in building several local landmark structures. Listed on the stone is the name Samuel F. Bean. Bean, who at one time worked for the elder Shopbell, had his hand in building multiple Princeton buildings during the building boom from 1890 to 1920. All Patoka Township schools consolidated in 1916, and that was most likely the reason for the remodeling of the 1890’s Harrison School. After the tornado of 1925, chances are the stone was displaced after only being installed nine years earlier. After the March 1925 tornado, the building would not be repaired for occupancy until the fall of that school year of 1925. The north building at Baldwin Heights School, the old The cornerstone at 805 N. Main, Princeton. Harrison School, around 1910, would later become Baldwin Heights.

The Harrison School