Stephen Decatur High School (Decatur, Illinois)
| Stephen Decatur High School (orig. Decatur High School) |
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| Location | |
| Decatur, Illinois | |
| Coordinates | 39°50′43″N 88°57′08″W / 39.8452°N 88.9523°WCoordinates: 39°50′43″N 88°57′08″W / 39.8452°N 88.9523°W |
| Information | |
| Type | Public High School |
| School district | Decatur Public Schools District 61 |
| Color(s) | Red and White |
| Team name | Reds (until 1945) Running Reds (after 1945 state basketball championship) |
| Newspaper | The Observer |
| Yearbook | The Decanois |
Stephen Decatur High School was a public high school in Decatur, Illinois which existed from 1862 to 2000. Stephen Decatur High School was simply known as Decatur High School until 1957, when the city's only high school was joined by Lakeview High School (a small rural district absorbed by consolidation), and MacArthur and Eisenhower High Schools, which were newly constructed to accommodate the student population that was exploding as a result of the post-World War 2 "baby boom".
The school, like the city, was named after Stephen Decatur, Jr. one of the great naval heroes of the post-Revolutionary War era. He battled pirates off the Barbary coast of Africa (twice), fought in the War of 1812, and at 25, is still the youngest person ever to achieve the rank of Captain in the history of the U.S. Navy. He eventually attained the rank of Commodore (a flag officer rank roughly equivalent to Rear Admiral) but was killed in a duel with a fellow naval officer.
Thirty-three years after the city of Decatur, Illinois began as little more than a log cabin settlement along the banks of the Sangamon River, its first secondary school opened to hold a six-month school year, at the height of the Civil War in 1862-1863. The students met in a room in a building known as the Church Street School.
From 1863-1869, the high school held classes in the Baptist church on the northeast corner of East William and North Water Streets. The year 1867 saw the first graduating class from Decatur High School, which consisted of four girls who had completed the three-year course of study.
The first official High School building opened on the northwest corner of East North and North Broadway Streets in the fall of 1869 (today Broadway Street is known as Martin Luther King (MLK) Drive). A class of eight graduated in 1870, but there were no graduates in 1871, because the course of study was lengthened to four years. The student population was expanding in the latter part of the 1800s, and building additions were made in 1892 and 1895. A portion of this 19th century building still existed into the late 1970s, when it was razed to make room for the grounds expansion of St. Patrick's Roman Catholic School, which stood between the two buildings.
By the year 1900, the school had grown to 731 students and 19 faculty members. It was clear that a new Decatur High School would need to be constructed to keep pace with the demand for educational services in the growing city of Decatur, Illinois.
That replacement building opened in the fall of 1911 in the block to the west of the older high school building, at the northeast corner of East North and North Franklin Streets, with an address of 400 North Franklin Street. The original portion of the building was constructed of red brick and had marble columns on the main west entrance. An additional three-floor classroom wing was added on the north end of the building in 1932. It is this building that most older adults today associate with (Stephen) Decatur High School, as it was in use for more than 60 years.
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