A Glimpse of Growing Up in Jupiter: Girls at Pitchford School in 1921

More than a century ago, a group of young girls gathered outside a school in Jupiter with basketballs in their hands.

The year was 1921, and the school behind them was Pitchford School, one of the centers of life in what was then a very small Jupiter community.

The black-and-white photograph preserved by Florida Memory offers a wonderful glimpse into everyday life here more than 100 years ago. The girls stand together outside the school building, dressed in the fashion of the day, with several basketballs visible among the group.

It's the kind of photograph that makes Jupiter's history feel a little less distant. These weren't famous people or grand buildings. They were local children going to school and growing up in the same community we call home today.

The story of Pitchford School

The schoolhouse itself was built in 1911 on property associated with Jupiter pioneers Herbert A. and Henry S. Pennock. It became known over the years as Pennock School, Pitchford School and Jupiter Junior High School.

Unlike the smaller schoolhouses that had preceded it, this was a substantial two-story building serving the growing community.

In 1921, Tony Cleveland Pitchford became principal of the school. His wife, Margaret, also taught there, and the Pitchfords photographed students during their two years at the school. Those photographs were later given to Jupiter historian Bessie Wilson DuBois and preserved as part of the area's historical record.

Pitchford School wasn't only a place for education.

In 1925, Jupiter residents gathered at the school to vote on incorporating their community as the Town of Jupiter. The school therefore became connected not just to generations of local children, but to the formation of Jupiter itself.

The old school eventually closed, and the building was later demolished during the winter of 1950-51.

Jupiter, more than 100 years ago

It's difficult to look at this photograph without wondering about the girls standing in it.

Where did their lives take them? How many stayed in Jupiter? How many of their children and grandchildren still live somewhere around northern Palm Beach County?

More than a century has passed, but photographs like this preserve small moments that otherwise might have disappeared completely.

And sometimes those ordinary moments tell us as much about a community as the big historical events do.

Do you have a parent, grandparent or other relative who attended Pitchford School? If you know any stories about the school or the families who attended it, we'd love to hear them.

Photo: Florida Memory / State Archives of Florida. Pitchford School, Jupiter, Florida, 1921.