A building by any other name: The lives of David L. Swartz, Emma T. McGowan and Gerald L. Fowler

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Clara Cozort

Named for former superintendent David L. Swartz, the Swartz building was built in 1965.

Every day the students of Carlisle High School walk into the Swartz, Fowler, and McGowan buildings.  While you may be familiar with the halls of these buildings, do you know the stories of their namesakes?

Swartz
David L. Swartz was the superintendent of the Carlisle Area School District starting on July 1, 1950. The accomplishments he made while being the superintendent were vast.

While in office, he was able to keep up with the many changes that were occurring during his time era. He made great improvements in technology, as well as met the “unusual demands [that] have been placed upon the physical, educational, and administrative aspects of public school systems” said the Board of Directors for the school district in 1965.

Along with expanding several aspects of the CASD, the district also increased the number of students from 2800 to over 6000.

The most notable accomplishment made by Swartz was his addition of the Swartz Building in September of 1965. This building was a high school strictly for 9th and 10th graders from the four communities that made up the school district at this time. The total cost to create the building was $1,778,709. The original plans called for a total of 38 classrooms with all-wool carpeting.

On November 10th, 1965, there was a dedication program held for the new Swartz building. The citizens of Carlisle were grateful for the efforts he made towards the educational program, along with the leadership he showed during his time as a superintendent.

McGowan
Emma Thompson McGowan was born in 1876. She was born in Virginia, where she spent her younger years with her parents, Calobe and Laura White Thompson. While still young, her family moved to Carlisle, Pennsylvania. The rest of her childhood was spent in Carlisle, and she graduated from Carlisle High School in 1894.

During the next phase of her life, Thompson went to a school in Virginia and got a teaching degree. She returned to Carlisle in 1896 and taught at the Lincoln School on Pitt Street. This school was also referred to as the “Colored School” by the community, according to community documents.

Her time at Carlisle was short-lived when she decided to move away in 1901 with her husband Rev. Osborne H. McGowan. After 16 years, she decided to move back, with her four children. Her family lived at 1136 North Franklin Street. She started to teach again at the Lincoln School, but once it was closed in 1927, she was moved to the Wilson School Building, which during times of segregation, was considered the school for African-American students, on N. Pitt Street. She taught here until 1943, which is the year she retired.
Emma T. McGowan was well known for her great influence on all of her students because she promoted scholarship. A lot of her students were inspired by her to continue their education, especially in hopes of gaining a teaching degree. The McGowan building was once named the West Building, but was renamed after her in the late 1900’s. She passed away on October 13, 1966, and is buried in the Union Cemetery.
Fowler
Gerald L. Fowler was born in Washington D.C., where he grew up and went to school. After high school he attended the University of Maryland. For the first part of his career he worked at Prince George’s County, in Maryland, and he stayed there for ten years.

Later, he completed a doctoral program at the University of Maryland, and then asked his advisor when he should begin to apply for jobs. It just so happened that his advisor found an ad for a reading supervisor at the Carlisle High School in Carlisle, PA. In 1980, he moved to Carlisle to begin his new job.

After being a reading supervisor, he became the principal at Mooreland Elementary, and later became the superintendent of the entire school district.

Fowler, along with a committee of other members, are responsible for the creation of the Fowler building in between the McGowan and Swartz buildings. He believed that the two schools should have a building that connects them, and also have a place where the community could come to the school.

When asked how he feels about having Fowler named after him he stated, “I’m not sure how to think; I’m just very humbled by it all.”

After being superintendent for 12 years, Fowler is now an associate professor of educational leadership at Shippensburg University, and both of his children reside in the Carlisle community.