St. Charles High School

Story

St. Charles High School is a public high school serving grades 9 through 12 in the city of St. Charles, Missouri, USA. The other high school in St. Charles, MO is St. Charles West High School.HistoryThe original St. Charles High School was located at Fourth and Jefferson Streets. In 1918, after a fire partially destroyed the building, it was moved to its present location on the corner of North Kingshighway and Waverly Streets at what was then the St. Charles Military Academy. In 1923, the present Building 'A' was built on a 6.4acre site at the old military academy. Four acres were added in 1938 for an athletic field. A WPA project built the bleachers. In 1943, the Vocational Shop (Industrial Technology Building “D”) was constructed. In 1951, 5acre next to the athletic field were purchased for a new junior high school (Building 'B'), which was built in 1955. In 1957-58, the building was expanded, adding five new classrooms and special service rooms along with a larger gymnasium. When a new junior high school was built in 1960, Building 'B' became part of the high school. A 15-room addition (Building 'C') was started in 1964 and opened for the 1965-66 school year.In 1975, St Charles High School was overcrowded with 1957 students. The district split into two high schools, with 425 students from the St Charles West attendance area moving to the new high school. The exterior of Building 'A' was renovated in 1978. In 1981, a ninth grade was added, making it a 4-year high school. The school was expanded in 1988 with a new band room, renovations to Building 'D', an all-weather track and student parking lot. In 1994, a $15 million bond issue resulted in a 5-year program that demolished the 1957 gym, 1960 wing and the 1970 wing; new construction provided continuity inside and outside the building. Building 'D was renovated for the Success Campus in 2007. On August 11, 1995, during the renovations of the oldest section of the building (long known as A-building), the structure caught fire. A-building was saved only because of its hardy brick walls; the rest of the school was destroyed. The renovations resumed after the fire, and were completed. The fire coincidentally took place on the very day of the 20th year class reunion of the class of 1975.