Bensalem High School
| Bensalem High School | |
|---|---|
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| Location | |
| 4319 Hulmeville Rd. Bensalem, Pennsylvania, United States |
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| Coordinates | 40°06′46″N 74°55′53″W / 40.1127°N 74.9315°WCoordinates: 40°06′46″N 74°55′53″W / 40.1127°N 74.9315°W |
| Information | |
| Type | Public high school |
| Established | 1920 |
| School district | Bensalem Township School District |
| Principal | William Ferrara |
| Enrollment | 1889 (2013-14) |
| Color(s) | Blue, Silver & White |
| Team name | Owls |
| Website | www |
Bensalem High School is a public high school in Bensalem, Pennsylvania.
Planning for the original Bensalem Township High School (Bensalem High School or BHS for short) began in 1920 with the acquisition of land adjoining the school property known as the Cornwells Heights Elementary School, at 2400 Bristol Pike. A. Oscar Martin, registered architect, of Doylestown, Pennsylvania, was selected to design a building along the lines and scope established by the Board of Education. Mr. Martin had years of experience in designing school buildings. The architect prepared drawings in 1920, using the existing two-story stone building of two classrooms as a nucleus. He developed a progressive planning system of which one unit was constructed that same year. It consisted of one classroom and one end of the central corridor.
After final installments and improvements, the building was formally dedicated and opened in March 1930. At the time, only 212 had enrolled in the school.
During the 1940s Bensalem Township had begun an accelerated rate of growth which produced serious over-crowding in the existing schools. By 1945, it was clear that a new high school building was needed. The board purchased a site of 40.345 acres (163,270 m2) of ground from Minnie Hansell on August 31, 1946 for the sum of $18,000. The first plans for a new high school called for a two-story building to accommodate about six hundred students. These plans were formulated under the leadership of Dr. A. Kurtz King, who succeeded Samuel K. Faust as superintendent of schools. The school board and Dr. King weathered the storm of the rejection of funds from the State School Building Authority and the discarding of plans and drawings by H. F. Everett and Associates of Allentown, Pa., architects, in 1947. Planning started from the very beginning again, this time for a one-story school building to house twice the original school population. It involved Dr. King, succeeding superintendents William B. Shellenberger and Robert K. Shafer, and the school directors, who formed the first municipal authority in Bucks County for the erection of school buildings, with the help of the Township Board of Supervisors.
Contracts for construction of the new high school were placed in March 1953. Groundbreaking ceremonies were on May 5, 1953, and cornerstone laying, on November 9, 1954. Flag raising exercises took place on November 18, 1954. The new high school, located at Street Road and Asbury Avenue, Cornwells Heights, was finally occupied on September 8, 1954, with 975 students in attendance. The cost was $2,685,000. The building contained these instructional facilities: twenty - five general classrooms, five science rooms, three commercial rooms, three homemaking rooms, two industrial arts rooms, four health and physical education rooms, two arts and crafts rooms, two music rooms, seven administrative offices, two faculty rooms, a student activity room, auditorium, cafeteria, and library. Within a few years this building was nearing its peak for pupil capacity. Population growth of the area continued, and by mid-1963, the Board of School Directors was faced with another building problem.
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