Photo By Eric Pilgrim | An operator uses the claw attachment to push walls of Crittenberger Elementary School...... read more read more
FORT KNOX, Ky. — An iconic symbol of post-World War II education has disappeared from its perch overlooking Highway 31W.
Considered modern in its time, Crittenberger Elementary School was demolished starting March 27 in preparation for a modern child development center that will become home to hundreds of Fort Knox Child and Youth Services children.
Niki Mills, Cultural Resources Program Manager, said the eventual decision to tear down the Crittenberger building was a long process because it was on the National Register of Historic Places.
“We had to go through the consultation process with the [Kentucky] Historic Preservation Office, and we had to develop what's called a Memorandum of Agreement because Crittenberger couldn't be reused,” said Mills.
The age and lack of adaptability of the building, which was built in August 1952, made it impossible to salvage.
“The decision was made that it needed to be torn down and that was the best place to put a new [child development center],” said Mills.
When engineers first developed the concept for Crittenberger, Army children were educated in pre-World War II facilities. Those buildings were common on posts worldwide. Crittenberger became the first to feature a first-floor concept with easy access to outdoor activities.
Crittenberger was also the first school to be built under new laws that were established to fund modern education, according to a Cultural Resources document at https://home.army.mil/knox/9417/1147/4675/SLD_Crittenberger_Nov2023revised_FINAL.pdf that explains the culture at the time.
“It was the first Army school funded and constructed under Public Laws 81-815 and 81-874,” states the document. “Fort Campbell’s Lincoln Elementary, nearly identical in design, was constructed shortly after Crittenberger School.”
Crittenberger was also the site for the first children in Kentucky to be inoculated from the polio virus.
Named after Cpl. Townsend Woodhull Crittenberger who was a former student at Fort Knox and was killed in World War II at the famous Rhine River crossing operation, the school remained active as an elementary school until 1996, when it was converted into an administrative building for education staff.
Mills said once the demolition is complete and construction on the new CDC begins, she plans to place some historic panels in the spot to commemorate Crittenberger.
“One of the panels will talk specifically about Crittenberger and its significance along with some photographs and some detailed contextual information,” said Mills. “The second panel will be more just generally about the education at Fort Knox from the earliest days up until now.”
Once completed, the new CDC at the site is expected to serve more than 300 children daily.
| Date Taken: | 03.31.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 03.31.2025 10:13 |
| Story ID: | 494132 |
| Location: | FORT KNOX, KENTUCKY, US |
| Web Views: | 26 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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