A History of ADM Schools and Schoolhouses
Adel – Adel Desoto – Adel DeSoto Minburn
Mascot: Tiger 
Colors: Scarlet and Black
🎶 Listen to the ADM High School Song 🎶
Experience the spirit of ADM High School by listening to our cherished school song. This anthem has been sung with pride by generations of ADM students and alumni.
1857: 1129 Main St
A two-story brick structure. Currently serves as the Adel Historical Museum.
1870: 215 N 11th St
A three-story, 45’x90’ building costing $28,000. In 1899, modern restrooms were installed and water was piped into the building.
1914: 215 N 11th St
A three-story building built of brick with concrete floors at a cost of $48,946. It had all the modern conveniences of the time, such as indoor plumbing with two restrooms and drinking fountains. It was heated with coal and had electric lights. It also had a gymnasium, considered one of the finest when built. In later years, this gymnasium became known as the “Cracker Box.”
1986: 801 Nile Kinnick Drive South
A one-story $4.1 million structure for grades 9-12.
2027: 2100 Nile Kinnick Dr S
will be a $58 million building on an 80 acre campus.
DeSoto: 1870-1961
Mascot: The Whirlwinds 
Colors: Princeton Orange & Black
1870: 605 Madison St
was a two-story brick building costing $5,000.
1922: 305 Spruce St
A three-story building constructed on 10 acres of land. Desoto’s school colors of orange and black date back to the time the school was being built. Woodrow Wilson, who was then president of the United States, had been president of Princeton University before he became president of the U.S. Princeton’s colors were orange and black, so they were Wilson’s colors also. Wilson was even given a car that was painted orange and black. The head of the Desoto School Board, at that time, was a staunch Wilson supporter and that might have had something to do with the choice of colors. No one seems to know where the Whirlwind mascot came from. Perhaps it was from the tornado, of June 1871, that blew down the just completed Christian church.
Minburn: 1874-1958
Mascot: Wildcats 
Colors: Blue and Black
1874: Walnut St
1915: Location TBD
The walls and memories of the present Minburn/Central Dallas building date back to the beginning of the century when, on March 20th, 1915, the building that later housed part of the elementary school was dedicated as the public school at Minburn.
Washington Township: 1923-1958
Mascot: Oriole
Colors: Orange and Black
1922: 18930 210th St, Minburn
was completed in 1922 at a cost of $90,000. This was a very modern and up-to-date school system. They enjoyed electricity from a Delco plant before electricity was available in the rural area. Even the superintendent’s home was wired to run off this unit. The Oriole was chosen for the mascot of Washington Township and so it is fitting that orange and black were the school colors. 1958 was the final year to have a senior graduating class at Washington Township. Elementary, grades 1st through 5th continued until 1982. Following that, Washington Township Consolidated School closed. The building still stands, thanks to a dedicated group of former students and history-minded individuals.
Central Dallas: 1959-1990
Mascot: Cyclone
Colors: Blue and Gold
1978: 618 5th St, Minburn
After the graduation of 1958, Minburn consolidated with Washington Township to establish the Central Dallas Community School District. In 1978, the present high school wing and new gym were completed.
