History
The original Taneytown Elementary School opened its doors at its present site in the fall of 1950. It housed grades one through six. There were 12 classrooms with a health room, faculty room, one principal’s office and a combination auditorium-cafeteria. The first principal was Stanley Stall, who served from 1950 to 1953. Dr. Frank Wargny, who would continue to serve as principal for the next 24 years, followed him.
In 1962 an addition was added at the end of the building. This addition included four classrooms, a new cafeteria, and new bathrooms for boys and girls. The building had lots of natural light, large classrooms, and was beautifully landscaped.
As the population grew, the Catholic Church and Taneytown Middle School were used to house fifth grade students. In 1976 Northwest Middle School was opened at the end of King’s Drive. At that time four sections of fourth grade, along with the fifth grade that was previously housed at the Catholic school building, were moved into the new middle school building to take care of the overcrowded elementary building. In 1992, there were so many students in the building that third graders were also moved into the middle school. Taneytown now had the largest population of elementary students in the county.
In 1993, a new school was built in Mayberry between Taneytown and Westminster. It was named Runnymede Elementary. Part of the students from Taneytown were redistricted to the new school along with students who had attended Uniontown Elementary School. That same year all remaining students in grades K through 5 were housed in Northwest Middle School.
In that same year, construction was begun to renovate the existing Taneytown Elementary School. The contractors added to the building, moved mounds of dirt, and made extensive changes to the old building. When the building was reopened again in 1995, the result was astounding. The front of the building no longer faced Trevanion Road, but now faced Kings Drive. The circular drive and grass that sloped towards the road was replaced with new grass and trees and a retaining wall. The original building was there in spirit but no one was quite sure where the old left off and the new began. The building retained the wonderful natural light, but now had more energy efficient windows. Technology and communication systems were state of the art. Everything was made handicapped accessible. The contractor, Morgan Keller, had taken the best of the old and added the new.
Taneytown Elementary School reopened its doors in 1995 under the administration of Larry McKinney. All of the fourth and fifth grade students that had been housed for 19 years at nearby Northwest Middle School, along with the other elementary students, were moved back into the building. More than 500 students,dedicated teachers, and staff were ready to pitch in and make this their new home.
