Collinsville High School - Kahokian Yearbook (Collinsville, IL)

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A History of the Collinsville Schools According to records, which seem authentic but unofficial, Collinsville Township has the distinction of having had the first organized school in Madi- son County. It was located near the bluffs and was organized in 1804. It was known as Casterline's School House. The name of the first teacher was John Bradsbury. The next school according to tradition, was built in 1814 upon land owned by a Mr. Judy, in the northern part of the township. The following teachers served with varying degrees of success: Elisbad Alexander, Mr. Thompson. Mr. Yaney, Mr. Enlow and Beniah Robinson. A number of log schoolhouses were built in the township during these early years. The schools were sub- scription schools and the teachers boarded around. Within what is now the city of Collinsville proper, the earliest schools were taught in the Union Church, a building used by all religious denomina- tions. Sometime in the forties, a Mr. Braley erected a building of his own and organized a private school which attained a good reputation. lt is said that his school was well patronized by pupils from communities as far away as St. Louis. Mr. Braley was succeeded by Rev. Charles Blood, a Presbyterian minister. Later he erected a building and established an academy upon what is now the site of the Webster School. This building was later purchased by the district and used as a public school until 1867. In 1867, a three-story brick schoolhouse was erected. This was one of the Hnest buildings in this part of the state, but was destroyed by fire in 1872. The next year, the building was replaced by another similar building which now stands in the rear of the present New Webster building and is known as the annex. All grades and the high school department were taught here for many years. In 1893 and 1905, respectively, the Columbian and McKinley schools were built to house more elementary students. ln order to provide better and more adequate high school facilities, the Township High School was organized in 1908 and a building erected. The capacity of the building was two hundred fifty pupils, but within a dozen years the enrollment had outgrown the accommodations and in 1922 the building was remodeled and enlarged. The present high school plant will compare favorably with others in its class, but owing to the continued increase in enrollment, further expansion to provide more room will be necessary in the near future. The enrollment this year is over five hundred. The present site embraces approximately ten acres: eight acres of which were purchased several years ago, to provide an athletic field. A conservative estimate of the value of the present plant, including equipment, would be over a quarter of a million dollars. -Excerpts from history written by Mr. Dorris for Chanticleer. Ten

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