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City site of historic blind school
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US & World
The first public school for the visually impaired in the United States was in Columbus.
The Ohio Institution for the Education of the Blind was established by the General Assembly on April 3, 1837. A 9-acre site just east of the city and north of the National Road (E. Broad Street) was chosen for the school.
Education of the blind was an emerging issue for Americans in the early 1830s. Although private schools for the blind had begun in Boston, New York and Philadelphia, it wasn’t until a January 1835 medical convention in Columbus that support for a publicly funded school for the blind led to legislative action.
A report submitted to the legislature by the school’s future board of trustees argued that all citizens deserved an education that both stimulated the mind and prepared them to earn a living.
Rigorous academics would make future employment as clergymen, teachers, counselors and professional musicians possible. At the same time, instruction in a number of trades was recommended, includ-ing the making of mattresses, nets, shoes and clothing.
Now known as the Ohio State School for the Blind at 5220 N. High St., the school celebrated its 175th anniversary last year.
— Nathan McGuirk