WALTON - Seventy years after graduating from Walton Central School’s historic “Ivy Tower” high school, members of the Class of 1956 have added another tribute to the school’s legacy.
At the Walton Central School Board of Education meeting on June 16, the class donated a commemorative plaque recognizing the bluestone replica of the Ivy Tower that it presented to the district in 1998.
The Class of 1956, which graduated with approximately 65 members, attended the original Walton High School on Townsend Street, now the Townsend Street Apartments. The building, constructed in 1892, served generations of students before it was replaced by O’Neill High School, which opened in 1962. The original school was later demolished.
On Nov. 21, 1998, the Class of 1956 donated a carved bluestone replica of the Ivy Tower. The monument remains on the front lawn of O’Neill High School.
The newly donated plaque links the monument to the Class of 1956 and will be displayed in the school’s lobby, preserving the story of the class’s gift and its connection to Walton’s educational history for future generations.
