The first dedicated all grades school in Punta Gorda was built on this site in 1896. Originally a one-story structure, a second story was added in 1902. The first year of high school was in 1903, the first graduating class was 1905. It served as both an elementary and high school until 1911 when a new school was built on Taylor as the high school-age population grew. In 1927 it became the town’s s first hospital. During the 1920s, the Chadwick brothers remodeled it for an inn, “The Chadwick Inn.” Later in the 1930s it became an apartment house.
The assistant principal at the Goldstein Street School was Prof. Ulysses S. Whiteaker; he designed the larger brick school on Taylor Street when the student population outgrew this one. U.S. and Nora Whiteaker's daughter, Jean Pauline, was also a teacher. She taught at the one-room Harbor View school across the bay. In 1914, Jean Whiteaker married Cleve Henry Cleveland. They lived in Boca Grande until 1921, when their oldest son, Gerald, reached school age and the Cleveland family moved to Punta Gorda. Jean then taught at the Taylor Street school, and Cleve went to work for the City as the manager of the City-owned electric power plant. In 1922, The City acquired its first fire truck and appointed Cleve as the first City Fire Chief. He was the first fire chief to be put on the City payroll; earlier firemen were volunteers. He was paid $25 a month and kept the position until 1931. During his tenure, Chief Cleveland and his crew were lauded for saving the "Chadwick Inn" - the former Goldstein Street School - and the surrounding buildings! They were able to restrict the fire to the upper floor of the Inn, which was later rebuilt. And btw, Jean Whiteaker Cleveland also went to work for the City. When the youngest Cleveland son, Max, was a toddler, Jean took a job as Deputy City Clerk. She would later become the first female City Clerk in Punta Gorda's history, a post she held for 8 years, before retiring in 1956 after 31 years of service at City Hall!
