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This is a list of oldest high schools in the United States. To qualify, a high school should be the oldest in a state or in a county or settlement with more than one high school. This list is intended to be sortable to show specific years related to claims such as "oldest high school" or "oldest continuously operated public high school" in a place.

Special claims

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Geographic qualifications are attached to some schools' claims.

purple and orange are the Alleghenies and Cumberlands; plateaus (pink and yellow) sometimes included as part
West of the Allegheny Mountains
This includes, at minimum, all of that which is at the same latitudes as a conservative estimate of the Alleghenies, yet west of a broad estimate that includes the Allegheny Plateau: north-central Kentucky; western Ohio; all of Indiana; nearly all of Illinois; the southern latitudes of Iowa and Nebraska; the central and northern latitudes of Missouri, Kansas, Utah, and Colorado; and northern California.
A more liberal estimate would be that is west of the longitude of the Allegheny Mountains proper, regardless of latitude: this includes Ohio, western Pennsylvania, western West Virginia, all of Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, and anything west in longitude from those. Anything "west of the Mississippi River" is also west of the Alleghenies by this estimate.

Key

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  • Location: City, Township, or County
  • St: State or territory
  • Type: school's current affiliation/organization type, for example Public, Magnet (if also public), religious denomination, religion if non-denominational, or Private
  • First start: first opening day for students attributed to this school
  • Last restart: newest re-establishment after being defunct
  • Last move: first students in major campus in oldest continuous use (can be before or after restarted)
  • Closed: final time school stopped operations when becoming defunct (blank if still in operation)
  • Claim: Claims made by school about longevity records (old = oldest; con = continuously operated; pub = public; loc = at same location); might not match actual history

All dates should be based on first classes for students when available, rather than when "organized" or otherwise conceived.

Schools still open

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Please give references for dates claimed. Claims without references may be considered bogus and removed without notice.

Name Location St type first start last restart last move claim
Boston Latin Boston MA Magnet 1635[1] ? 1st pub sch in US[1]
Norfolk Academy Norfolk VA Private November 12, 1728 "trust deed"[2][ambiguous] [a] 1966[2] 8th old HS in US[3]
Elyria Elyria OH Public 1831[4] 1858[5] old pub HS W of the Alleghenies[6]
Woodward Cincinnati OH Public October 24, 1831[citation needed] old HS W of the Alleghenies[7]
Elgin Academy Elgin IL Private 1839 "charter"[8][ambiguous] 1940[8] old coed non-sectarian college prep W of Alleghenies[9]
Central Evansville IN Public September 4, 1854[10][ambiguous] 1971[10] old con pub HS W of the Alleghenies[10]
Peoria (Central) Peoria IL Public May 5, 1856 "founded"[11] 1912[citation needed] old HS W of the Alleghenies; 17th in US[11]; old con HS W of the Alleghenies (WP article)[dubious – discuss][b]
Male Louisville KY Public 1856[12] August 1991[12] old pub HS W of the Alleghenies[12]
Lake View Chicago IL Public May 4, 1874[13] old "township" HS in IL[14][15][dubious – discuss]

Notes

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  1. ^ Not counting occasions when the school was suspended for wars, but not dissolved.
  2. ^ As of 15 May 2015, List of the oldest public high schools in the United States shows 8 high schools older than Peoria Central and west of the Alleghenies (9 if counting Hawaii), including Cambridge High School (Cambridge, Illinois) in 1834.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "First Public School Site and Ben Franklin Statue". City of Boston, Massachusetts. Retrieved 2009-04-10.
  2. ^ a b "History". Norfolk, Virginia: Norfolk Academy. Retrieved 2015-05-14. Norfolk Academy entered into official existence on November 12, 1728. As early as 1680, however, its presence had been foreseen by Norfolk town planners who reserved a large parcel of land across the street from the parish church as a "school lot." Some forty-eight years later the lot was deeded to three prominent citizens with the instructions that a school be constructed there for the benefit of the "inhabitance [sic] of Norfolk Town." That 1728 "trust deed" would serve as the charter for the school and create the school's first trustees. For several decades, schooling took place in the church itself. (Requires JavaScript.)
  3. ^ "Headmaster's Welcome". Norfolk, Virginia: Norfolk Academy. Retrieved 2015-05-14. Our school is a leader among independent schools with roots that date to 1728, making us the 8th oldest secondary school in the country. (Requires JavaScript.)
  4. ^ Wright, George Frederick (1916). A standard history of Lorain county, Ohio. Lewis Publishing Company. p. 361. Retrieved 2009-04-10. The Elyria High School was under the management of a board of trustees. In 1831 Heman Ely had erected a building at the rear of the Methodist Church between Broad and Second streets and leased the building and the land to the trustees of the Elyria High School for a term of years.
  5. ^ Wright, George Frederick (1916). A standard history of Lorain county, Ohio. Lewis Publishing Company. p. 363. Retrieved 2009-04-10. The first high school building erected by the village was completed in 1857 and stood between Middle and West avenues. It was first occupied by the high grammar and secondary grades in the winter of 1858 and the old Ely High School and the session room were abandoned.
  6. ^ "Oldest High School In Ohio May Close Its Doors". NewsNet5 (WEWS-TV). Cleveland, Ohio: The E.W. Scripps Co. 2001-10-31. Retrieved 2009-04-10.
  7. ^ Griggs, France (1997-09-01). "Dismal Test Scores, Declining Enrollment Hard Times At Woodward High". Cincinnati Post. Retrieved 2009-04-10. The oldest high school west of the Allegheny Mountains is in trouble. Woodward High School is an example of the problems that plague inner-city schools everywhere.
  8. ^ a b "History of Elgin Academy". Elgin, Illinois: Elgin Academy (Elgin, Illinois). 2008-05-21. Retrieved 2009-04-10. 1839: Elgin Academy's original charter was signed [...] 1856: The original campus building, "Old Main" is opened. Source does not establish when between 1839 and 1856 students were first enrolled. Building site in longest continuous use appears to be Sears Hall from 1940.
  9. ^ "EA's Mission". Elgin, Illinois: Elgin Academy (Elgin, Illinois). 2009-03-06. Retrieved 2009-04-10. Elgin Academy is proud of its history as the oldest coeducational, non-sectarian college preparatory school west of the Allegheny Mountains.
  10. ^ a b c Harris, Ira. "CHS History". Central High School. Evansville, Indiana: Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation. Retrieved 2009-04-10. Central High School is the oldest free public high school in continuous operation west of the Allegheny Mountains. It was established in 1854 as Evansville High School. In 1918 the name was changed to Central High School when another high school was built. ... Evansville High School opened on September 4, 1854
  11. ^ a b "Peoria High School Alumni Association". Peoria, Illinois. 2009-03-11. Retrieved 2009-04-10. Founded on May 5th 1856 in Peoria, Illinois, Peoria High School is the seventeenth oldest high school in the nation and the oldest west of the Allegheny Mountains.
  12. ^ a b c "LMHS School History". Louisville, Kentucky: Jefferson County Public Schools. 2008-12-15. Retrieved 2009-04-10.
  13. ^ "Lake View High School history". Chicago: Lake View High School. Retrieved 2009-04-10. In 1873 the citizens of Lake View Township voted to establish a High School. ... Lake View High School was constructed at a cost of $16,000 and opened its doors May 4th, 1874.
  14. ^ Lake View High School is cited in the honorary Illinois legislative resolution (91 HR 85) as the "oldest township high school in Illinois" with an 1874 date: but the school was annexed into Chicago Public Schools in 1889. Furthermore, Princeton Township High School was likely founded in 1867, but needs citations. Cambridge High School (Cambridge, Illinois) was possibly founded in 1834, and is possibly a township high school as well, but needs citations.
  15. ^ HR0085 91st General Assembly. Illinois General Assembly. Retrieved 2009-4-10.
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