New Greely High School, Main Street, Cumberland, Maine, 1961
In the 1950s, Cumberland schools became crowded as the school district struggled to keep pace with the town’s growing population.
Additional classes were housed in the old Union Hall and the Red Men’s Hall. Determining that it was only a matter of time before Greely Institute was inadequate for its students, Cumberland school and survey committees went ahead with a three-part plan for expansion, which included adding the new high school, Cumberland Elementary School, a science wing, and a new gymnasium, with classes shuffled from building to building as new spaces opened up to them. Renovation began in 1961 with the first of several anticipated renovations, and 12 new classrooms were added to the Greely complex. By 1965, Greely High School boasted 294 students and a town budget of $151,000.
