School’s Out Forever (original) (raw)

In the July/August issue of Evansville Living, we ran a list of some of the local high schools that have come and gone. But that list was far from complete. Here’s the rest of the closed high schools from Posey, Vanderburgh, Warrick, Spencer, Dubois, Perry, and Gibson counties.

Birdseye (Yellow Jackets, black & gold): Merged with Ferdinand to form Forest Park High School in 1971.

Chrisney High School (Wildcats, black & orange): Merged with Dale High School in 1972 to form Heritage Hills High School.

Cuzco (Bear Cubs, black & white): Absorbed by Dubois (later renamed Northeast Dubois) High School in 1948.

Dale High School (Golden Aces, black & gold): Merged with Chrisney High School in the fall of 1972 to form Heritage Hills High School. Known for its boys’ basketball prowess, Dale won 11 sectional titles, the last coming in 1968.

Derby High School (Warriors, black & gold): Absorbed by Perry Central.

French Lick High School (Red Devils, red & white): The school’s nickname is based on the character of Pluto – the god of the underworld in classic mythology – who was the symbol of the nearby mineral springs. The school merged with longtime rival West Baden to form Springs Valley High School in 1957.

Gentryville High School (Pirates, green & white): Closed in 1948. Students were then split to either Chrisney or Dale.

Grandview High School (Greyhounds/Yellow Jackets, gold & purple): Closed in 1943. Students were transferred to Luce Township High School.

Griffin High School (Tornadoes, red & white): The mascot is a reference to the March 18, 1925, Tri-State Tornado, which leveled the entire town of Griffin. Closed in 1959 when it merged with three other schools to form North Posey High School.

Holland High School (Dutchmen, red & white): Don Buse led the boys’ basketball team to sectional championships in 1967 and 1968 before going on to a career at the University of Evansville and 13 years in the NBA. Holland merged with Huntingburg in 1972 to form Southridge High School.

Huntingburg High School (Happy Hunters, black & red): Consolidated with Holland to form Huntingburg High School in 1972. Huntingburg reached the boys’ basketball state finals in 1937.

Ireland (Spuds, green & white): Absorbed by Jasper High School in 1970.

Leopold High School (Leopards, black & white): Merged with Tobinsport and Oil Township to form Perry Central in 1962.

Luce Township High School (Red Devils, red & white): Located in Richland, Indiana. Merged with Rockport in 1965 to form South Spencer High School.

Newburgh High School (Wildcats, navy blue & old gold): Closed in 1959, merged with Chandler to form Castle High School. Newburgh High School’s gymnasium was used for years by Newburgh Elementary School. Newburgh won the championship in the last boys’ basketball sectional it ever competed in.

Oil Township High School (Oilers, green & white): Merged with Leopold and Tobinsport to form Perry Central in 1962. The building was used as Perry Central until a new school was built in Leopold in 1966.

Otwell High School (Millers, blue & white): Merged with Petersburg and Winslow in 1974 to form Pike Central High School.

Petersburg High School (Indians, red & white): Merged with Otwell, and Winslow in 1969 to form Pike Central High School. The Petersburg gymnasium stands, and the old football field is used by Pike Central as a soccer field.

Rockport High School (Zebras, blue & gold): Consolidated with Luce Township in 1965 to form South Spencer High School.

Spurgeon High School (Cardinals, black & red): Absorbed, along with Stendal, by Winslow in 1966.

Stendal High School (Aces): The school never had its own basketball gym, and its teams were known as the “gymless wonders.” The school was absorbed, along with Spurgeon, by Winslow in 1966.

Tobinsport High School (Pirates, blue & white): Merged with Leopold and Oil Township to form Perry Central High School in 1962.

Troy (Trojans, green & old gold): Absorbed by Tell City High School.

Union High School (Eagles, green & white): Absorbed by Petersburg in 1937.

Velpen High School (Leopards, green & white): Absorbed by Otwell in 1937.

White River (Little Giants, red, white, and blue): Possibly the shortest-lived high school of the consolidation era. It opened in 1963 as a merger of Hazelton and Patoka. In closed in 1965 to merge with Princeton and Mount Olympus to form Princeton Community High School.

Winslow High School (Eskimos, purple & gold): Merged with Otwell, Petersburg, and Winslow in 1974 to form Pike Central, which is now the only high school in Pike County.

West Baden High School (Sprudels, purple & white): The mascot is actually an elf, and it means “spring water” in German. The nearby West Baden Springs Hotel sold its spring water as “Sprudel Water.” The school merged with French Lick in 1957 to form Springs Valley.