[4] In 1874 high school classes were held in an old building on North Center Street.

The curriculum included reading, arithmetic, spelling, geography, history, and writing.

The building was constructed of St. Louis pressed brick, Portage red sandstone, with oak, cypress, and yellow pine woodwork.

[4] Franklin Elementary School was originally built in 1913, but was later destroyed and replaced with another one in its place with the same name.

After five years in operation, the administrators of Lenihan High School found it was financially impossible to continue providing quality education for their students.

The need for additional space at Lenihan Junior High resulted in the construction of six rooms on the east side of the building in 1975.

In the late 1970s, Lenihan Junior High's enrollment was in the 470s but then declined to a total of approximately 400 students.