Angelica Central School

In 1955, Angelicans voted to build a new school. This red brick building, originally known as Angelica Central School, opened in the fall 1956. The Angelica Advocate issued a special edition on September 20, 1956, highlighting the new building. Readers were taken on a walking tour with photos of each area of the building with articles written by current students. The excitement of the time was captured throughout the special edition. The whole town marveled with pride!

To help the community keep up with school happenings, The Angelica Advocate continued the tradition of publishing “Central Secrets.” 

Locals referred to this as the “new school,” having replaced the previous yellow brick building, known as Wilsonian High on the corner of Park Circle and White Street. The building ably served the community with only one major renovation in the late 1970’s when and East wing was added housing a library and two classrooms. 

Due to increasing costs of education and the inability to offer all the courses and activities that students needed at both Angelica Central and neighboring Belmont Central Schools, a merger was studied and proposed to voters. Residents had to decide if the proposed merger would save money and improve the provided education. After a close, but heated contest, in May 1996, a consolidation was approved initially forming Angelica-Belmont Central School. Therefore, the last class to graduate from Angelica Central was that June. The newly formed district, which received its official name of Genesee Valley Central School with an act of the state legislature, began on July 1, 1996. The first class graduated in June 1997.

GVCS continued using the building after the merger until students were moved to the newly built campus outside Belmont in 2003. Angelica elementary students and all of the district’s middle school students shared the building. After the GVCS students left, Houghton College purchased the building in 2003 for use as a private school, first housing Houghton Academy and then Centerpoint Christian Academy. After the private school closed, a local entrepreneur purchased the property with hopes to renovate the building to become an inn and conference center or a senior center. Neither concept came to fruition. Eventually, the land surrounding the building was purchased as recreation fields for the town and village. Currently in 2026, despite being in the County Tax Auction, it is for sale.