William Penn School was built and opened in 1907 at 3620 Penn Ave N. It was named for William Penn (b1644-d1718) Quaker leader, advocate of religious freedom and founder of Pennsylvania. In 1906 when the Minneapolis school board decided to build a new school in this part of the city, many wondered why and said it couldn’t be filled in years. However on the first Monday in September 1907 the school was practically finished and opened with seven classrooms. There were 92 first graders on that first day! By January 1908, a ninth room was opened. The school enrollment grew so rapidly that in 1914 a six-room addition was built onto the school.
Penn School’s faculty and families were often involved in causes beyond the school walls. During World War I, the moms sewed for the Red Cross, the dads bought war bonds and the faculty, including Principal Miss Norris, spent a summer running a Red Cross tea room. Children were supposed to bring in 25¢ to buy a war stamp each week. One teacher worried that some student’s families couldn’t afford this. Some boys brought her some pussy willows and she came up with an idea. At night she would take whatever pussy willows they had brought her, along with daffodils, and she would go downtown and sell them to stores on Nicollet and Hennepin Avenues. After pussy willow season was past, the kids themselves would go down and sell cowslips or violets. They also sold thorn apple jelly that they had made.
This ‘working for a cause’ continued during World War II. In an accounting of the school’s efforts from 1942 to the fall of 1945, by Mrs. Newall, chairperson of the War Activities Committee, the parents, staff and students had raised $39,512.45. They had bought several land jeeps, one amphibian jeep, one landing plane, one flying plane and one ambulance. They then were going to work on raising another $3,000 for a hospital unit. “We helped them fight with equipment, now let’s help them home. And we should remember the war is not over until the boys are home.”
In 1948 the Penn School PTA took on a new cause. They wanted a playground built for the children in the area, because, as they said, “there are absolutely no playground facilities for the children of N.W. Mpls.[north of 34th between Penn and Xerxe].” They wrote to the mayor, the superintendent of parks, and the board of park commissioners. They wanted to know what happened to the plan for a playground to be built in the area in 1927 (residents whose house would be impacted objected) and a plan to build a playground at 36th and Washburn (no one knew). Their work help lead to the building of a playground near the Cleveland School on Lowry and Russell – what we now know as Cleveland Park.
In 1955 the PTA worked with the Minneapolis Public Library to bring a school station branch library to Penn School students.
In the 1950s and early ‘60s the enrollment of Penn School ranged from 428 to 517. In the school district’s 1963 Planning For The Future assessment, it was determined that the building would need a considerable amount of modernizing and rehabilitation to meet the current standards of educational adequacy, health and safety. Also, the site size of 2.64 acres was too small and additional room would need be needed. The age of the building and location would also need to be considered. Loving School students shared Penn School’s space in 1977-1978 while an addition was made to Loring School. In 1979 when the Loring students returned to their building, Penn was closed and was torn down in August of 1979.
In its 72-year history, William Penn School was an integral part of the community.
*Note – There is a “Willam Penn Elementary North Minneapolis” FaceBook page for those who are interested.