Great Falls High School
| Great Falls High School | |
|---|---|
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| Address | |
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1900 2nd Avenue South Great Falls, Montana United States |
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| Coordinates | 47°30′07″N 111°16′26″W / 47.50194°N 111.27389°W |
| Information | |
| Type | Public high school |
| Established | 1890 |
| School district | Great Falls Public Schools |
| Principal | Heather Hoyer |
| Teaching staff | 112.23 (full-time equivalent; 2014–2015) |
| Grades | 9 through 12 |
| Enrollment | 1,514 (2014-2015) |
| Color(s) | Blue and white |
| Athletics | Basketball (boys and girls) Football (boys) Golf (boys and girls) Softball (girls) Soccer (boys and girls) Swimming and Diving (boys and girls) Tennis (boys and girls) Track and field (boys and girls) Volleyball (girls) Wrestling (boys) |
| Mascot | Bison |
| Rival | Charles M. Russell High School |
| Accreditation |
Montana Office of Public Instruction National Association of Schools and Colleges Regional Accreditation Association |
| Yearbook | The Roundup |
| Website | |
| Designated | March 20, 2013 |
| Reference no. | 13000097 |
Great Falls High School (or GFHS) is a public high school for grades 9 through 12 located in Great Falls, Montana. Established in 1890, it was the city's first high school. The school's original building, constructed in 1896, is now on the National Register of Historic Places. GFHS began construction on its current building in 1929 and occupied it in the fall of 1930. The high school marked its 80th year in the structure during the 2010–2011 school year. The school's current building, constructed in 1930, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in March 2013.
Great Falls was founded in 1883. Businessman Paris Gibson surveyed the city in 1883 and platted a permanent settlement the south side of the river. It was incorporated on November 28, 1888. By 1890, Black Eagle Dam had been built within the city limits on the Great Falls of the Missouri River, a meat packing industry (the largest between St. Paul, Minnesota, and Spokane, Washington) had arisen, a railway had come to town, and a silver smelter had been built. The city's public school system was established in 1886. That year, the city opened the Whittier Building (later known as Whittier Elementary School) and began holding ungraded educational instruction for all students there.
Great Falls High School was founded in the fall of 1890 by the city of Great Falls after four teenage girls (newly arrived in the city) asked to receive a high school public education. The four young women constituted the first class, which met in a corner of a classroom in the Whittier Building (which, by that time, featured instruction in the sixth, seventh, and eighth grades). By September 1892, Great Falls High School was an independent school within the city public school system. Its 23 students also had a specified course of instruction (rather than general classes).
In 1896, the Great Falls Public Schools built the first Great Falls High School building. City voters passed an initiative in 1893 to sell bonds to build a high school, but the Panic of 1893 delayed construction. A design by local architect William White was chosen over three other proposals. White's Romanesque Revival three-story structure featured a small central circular building, two rectangular wings, and an eight-story, four-faced clock tower. Construction on the building, located at 1400 First Avenue North, began in 1894. The high school was built of gray sandstone obtained from quarries near both Helena and Great Falls. The walls, which were 5 feet (1.5 m) thick at the bottom of the building but only 4 feet (1.2 m) thick at the roof, were sunk 16 feet (4.9 m) into the earth and stood on shale bedrock. To compact the foundation's backfill, a herd of sheep was driven around the structure 100 times. Wood for the interior supports, roof, and steps were cut from massive trees logged in the Rocky Mountains and floated down the Missouri River. The finished building featured a tin mansard roof (molded and painted to look like tile), gables, and an attic suspended from the roof joists. The interior woodwork was solid oak, all rooms had 3-foot (0.91 m) high wainscoting, the solid doors were 2.5-inch (6.4 cm) thick, and highly detailed molded pediments were emplaced over each door. Ornate brass doorknobs and hinges were used throughout the building, and heat was supplied by cast iron radiators with delicate, filigreed covers. The building (whose original cost was estimated at $59,940) was completed by McKay Brothers in 1896 at a total cost of $110,000. The structure, which was designed to educate 500 students, contained 14 classrooms, a physical laboratory, a chemical laboratory, an art studio, and an assembly hall that could seat 400. A boiler system was installed in the basement.
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