1824- The first schoolhouse was built in Liberty Township, which was a round log cabin that was located at the lower corner of Baughan Cemetery. The first teacher was William Edgar followed by Thomas Lapham.
1838- Newton (Raymond) was founded by David Paul. Until 1853 no official record was kept of the schools of Liberty Township. The first Board of Education met on April 18, 1853 in a schoolhouse in Newton. (Raymond was formerly called Newton.) This schoolhouse was a one-room log building.
The township at this time was divided into about twelve sub-districts, which were constantly changed and redistricted. Newton was sub district No. 6. Each district had a director and two sub directors for the purpose of hiring teachers, taking care of buildings, and changing district boundaries. The director was a member of the school board. The school board decided that schools were to be in session for a period not to exceed six months.
A record of the number of pupils in Liberty Town ship was first kept in 1853. At this time the records show that there were 578 white children whose ages ranged from five to twenty-one years. The standard schoolbooks used were McGuffy’s Reader and Speller, Webster’s Dictionary, Ray’s Arithmetic, Kirkham’s Grammar, Cornstock’s Philosophy, and Daire’s Algebra.
1880 - A two-story schoolhouse was built in Newton for District No. 6. This school was located across the street from the present Raymond Elementary School.
Until 1900 little change was made in any of the schools of the district. Realization of the need for a high school at Raymond began to take definite form about 1900, and in 1902 by a vote of the citizens it was decided to issue bonds to accomplish this goal. Additional rooms were added to the frame building used by the grade school in Raymond in order to accommodate these high school pupils. A library was started, some equipment bought, and a high school for Liberty Township came into existence.
The following courses of study were adopted: Freshman year: Latin, Algebra, Rhetoric, General Science, and Physical Geography; Sophomore year: Caesar, English, History, Geometry, and Physics; Senior year: Cicero, English Literature, Botany, German, and Bookkeeping. It was only a three-year high school and the school term was nine months.
1905 - The first class graduated; a total of six students, namely; Edna G. Figely, Ella Pope, Clara Williams, Gertrude Williams, Charles C. Firestine, and Eber N. Dillon.
1914 - A new brick building was dedicated and a centralized school was formed and all outlying one-room schools were closed. Now the students were all transported to the new school by horse and wagon (called kid hacks). A coal furnace heated this building and the hot air circulated by a furnace heated this building and the hot air circulated by a huge fan operated by a gasoline engine. A gas engine also powered the water system. The old school building was sold (later used as the VFW building) and the wing that was added for the high school a two story structure, 30x40 feet, was used for a basketball hall on the upper floor and the lower level for a stable for the kid hack horses. On January 28, 1930, the basketball hall was destroyed by fire.
1931 - A new frame gym/auditorium was designed by Bruce Cahill, and built for a very low cost with mostly volunteer labor. The class of 1932 was the first to graduate in the new auditorium. In later years, this building was used as a community skating rink.
1933 - The Liberty Township Schools had a total enrollment of 228. This was the largest enrollment in the history of the school.
1936 - The voters of the Liberty Township approved a bond issue for an addition of the 1914 school building. The addition as proposed was located alongside and connected with a corridor. This addition along with some alterations made in the current building provided a General Science Laboratory and Chemistry Laboratory, Vocational Agriculture Room and Farm Shop, modern Home Economics Rooms, spacious Study Hall and Library, Cafeteria for serving hot lunches, and a Commercial Department, along with lockers and showers.
A combination Auditorium/Gymnasium, seating 700 people, was proposed, which provided a community center, thereby leaving the frame one-story building intact for physical education work, which was required by the state.
1939 - The new auditorium and classrooms were added to the original brick building. On January 18-19, 1940 a dedication was held for this new addition. On Thursday, January 18, there was a dedication of the new gymnasium and boys and girls basketball games. Friday, January 19, a visitation of regular classrooms and a movie, EXPLORERS OF THE WORLD, lead up to the evening dedication of the building.
1951 - Liberty Township High School became Northwestern High School by consolidation with parts of Liberty, Taylor, Allen, and York Townships, and this continued until the school was annexed to Marysville in 1963.
1963 - The Class of 1963 was the last to graduate from Northwestern High School as Raymond Elementary School came into being at this time.
1996 - New classrooms for 1stgrade and Kindergarten were added along with a main floor office. This addition was dedicated on September 5, 1996 adding much need space, along with bringing our Kindergarten and 1stgrades together. During this addition, bringing the office to the entrance on the ground floor was necessary for the safety of students and the building.
2001 - The 2001 addition added 12 new classrooms, new student restrooms, library, staff workroom, staff restrooms, and a mechanical room. This addition replaced the 1914 section of the building, which is no longer in use.