The History of Bloomfield High School

The History of Bloomfield High School. . Bloomfield's first organized school was established in 1842 with classes held in a small log structure, which had served as a Methodist Episcopal church since 1837. In 1853 a group of citizens organized the Bloomfield Education Society and purchased two acers on the western edge of the community. In the fall of 1860, a two-story frame building was on the site and quickly occupied by 108 students and three teachers. Area residents proudly referred to this structure as "the academy" or "the seminary.", During the turmoil of the Civil War, educational activities were curtailed or abandoned. Forced to close in 1861, the school building became, at various times, both a Confederate hospital and Union barracks. In 1864, bushwhackers burned the courthouse and the business district, but spared the school. Following the war there was an effort to renew educational activities and in 1871 this building housed the community's first public school. In 1886 a new school was built 2 blocks southwest of the original site. In 1898 the Bloomfield High School was established and housed during the first two years in the new Buck and Boyd Building, one street west of the business district. During the first year, it was one of three schools south of St. Louis and east of Springfield recognized by the Missouri Office of Education as a "First Class High School." In 1899, 12 acres were purchased for a campus, bounded on the north by Missouri Street, on the south by Court Street, and on the east by the city limits of the original town. A new high school building was completed on the site in 1900 and a grade school added in 1914. These 12 acres of the original high school campus have been used continuously as a place of instruction, except for the period of original construction 1899-1900 and during repair work in 1906. , (Continued on other side). , (Back): , (Continued from other side). , In 1925 the town and seven adjoining communities formed the Bloomfield Consolidated Dist. No. 2. A new high school was erected in 1927; the old building served as an elementary school until it burned during Christmas vacation in 1944. In 1938 parents and patrons, using donated food, supplies, labor and personal funds, implemented a hot lunch program and initiated a free transportation system for rural students., The school's first yearbooks called The Blossom, were first published in 1913 and chronicled the early classes and activities. These included the development of boys' baseball 1907, boy's track and girls' basketball 1908, boys' basketball 1911, oratorical contests 1910, and a debate team in 1915. Although instrumental music had been taught at the academy in 1860, it was in the late 1930s and early 1940s that the school's orchestras became widely recognized and a source of community pride. Notable achievements in athletics over the years include: the records of the boys' basketball teams of 1947, 1965, and 1966 and the girls' undefeated Missouri State Champion volleyball team of 1992., During a century of education, (1898-1998) the school district has established a reputation for strong administrative leadership, outstanding teachers, and exceptional student achievement at local, state, and national levels in athletics, debate, oratory, agriculture, practical arts and fine arts. Most importantly the Bloomfield School District has produced thousands of outstanding citizens. Graduates have assumed important roles in medicine; education; business; law; agriculture; community service; the military; and local, state, and national government., The class of 1953.