Henning High School

Bismarck-Henning High School
Picture of High School
Location
Henning, Illinois United States
Information
Type	Deactivated Public School
Established	1914 - 1964
Status	closed
Closed	1964
Grades	9-12
School color(s)	Purple, White
Mascot	Raider
Original principal	Unknown

The town of Henning (population 241) is located in eastern Illinois in central Vermilion County. U.S. Route 136 passes through Henning which sits just a stone's throw west of Illinois Route 1. The C&EI Railroad (Chicago and Eastern Illinois) and the IC Railroad (Illinois Central) both had spurs that crossed in Henning. The IC is no longer active; the C&EI spur ends in Henning for the purpose of serving the grain elevator still there. The Indiana / Illinois state line is just 9 miles east of Henning. A town of note in the area includes Danville just 11 miles south and a little east of Henning.

The history of Henning and the origin of its high school is not available at this time. It is known that Henning residents supported their own school system for many years. The school, established probably in the late 19th century, flourished for about 5 decades. A guess would be that in the late 1940s consolidation talks with nearby Bismarck, its neighbor of 5 miles to the southeast, were begun. Probably in the late 1940s, the residents of Bismarck and Henning agreed to consolidate school districts. This brought about the Bismarck-Henning School District. The last mention of either Bismarck or Henning on the IHSA web site is Henning competing in the Speech Sweepstakes competition in 1946. The earliest mention of the Bismarck-Henning Consolidated High School is 1960 for football.

All schools for the Bismarck-Henning system are located in Bismarck. The fate of the original Henning School building is not available yet.

Henning High School was purchased in 1999 by Full Fill Industries, LLC and is now home to their aerosol manufacturing plant.

   Now Everyone that goes to Henning School
   Knows how to obey each and every rule.
   They have that smile, that style, that winning way,
   No matter where you go,
   They'll recognize you and they'll say:
   "Now there's a group I'd like to know."
   They've got that good ol' Henning zip and go.
   And Just to see them smile
   Is quite a treat (hard to beat)
   HENNING HIGH!!!

   Cha he
   Cha ha
   Cha he ha ha
   Henning High School
   Rah Rah Rah!

Henning High School definitely offered basketball as a sport. Baseball and track were two other sports for Henning athletes. The English Department at Henning had one great year when the tiny hamlet of Henning competed against much larger areas in Team and Individual Speech Competition. With an enrollment ( in 1943 under 100) less than 100 students, football was not offered. Sports for females were not available in those days.