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Since the start of the school year, the major focus has been on the renovations. But did you ever stop to think about what existed before the school was built?

A man by the name of John Sharp Swesey and his wife, Margaret, owned a large farm house on the land where the school is built. The creek has always been here, but the land was previously a farm, orchard, and then a parking lot. A riding ring, owned by the Gypsy Glen Riding Club, was located in a wooded area where the track now sits.

In 1876, John Swesey attended the World's Fair in Philadelphia to celebrate our nation's Centennial. While he was there he stopped at a German vendor's booth and tasted ice cream for the first time. Swesey requested the formula for the ice cream, but the man refused to reveal it. Instead, the German vendor offered to emigrate to Western Pennsylvania after he returned to Germany for a short time to settle his affairs. When he returned to the United States, he came right to Beaver and established an ice cream business with John Swesey. Together they began selling their product, first from the farm and then from wagons.

Three drivers were hired to deliver the ice cream. Swesey even added an addition onto his house so that the drivers could live there. The ice cream was delivered in wagons pulled by horses wearing sleigh bells. The sound of the bells let all the children know that the ice cream wagon was on its way. The drivers' routes followed the trolley line, which stretched from Vanport to Beaver Falls.

Children quickly surrounded the wagon to purchase the ice cream. The flavors were always changing. It cost a nickel for two scoops plus the dish. The edge of the thin, wooden dish could be broken off and used as a spoon.

In 1920, John Sharp Swesey died. Margaret kept the business going until 1926. Then she sold the ice cream formula to a company in Columbiana County, who, in turn, may have sold it to Handel's.

John and Margaret's two grandsons (the McCleery brothers) inherited the house and property. The farm remained in the McCleery family until 1958. The Beaver Area School Board offered to buy the land to build a school on it. The McCleery brothers didn't want to sell the land, but they were forced to give it up. Although the creek would have to be diverted and contained, the School Board was set on building a school on the site. Construction of the school began in the late 1950's, and the first class graduated from Beaver Area High School's present location in 1961.