As we look at the history of Roxana High School it is appropriate for us to examine how the school district came to be in existence in the first place. The following account will give you a sense of our history. The following account is part of the district's policy manual and was written by former administrator and RHS alumnus, Stephen Paynic.
The development of the Roxana School District began in 1802 when Gilham's Pasture School was built on the northeast corner where Thirteenth Street and Edwardsville Road intersect. In 1858, a new frame school was built in a dense growth of oak trees and named Brushy Grove School. In 1874, this school burned and was rebuilt. In 1929, a four-room brick school was built on the same location and continued to be called Brushey Grove School. This brick school was used until 1969 when it was sold at public auction in 1971. The Wood River Savings and Loan built a new building after razing the old school. Later the building was sold to Metro Savings and Loan and most recently has been purchased by Mercantile Bank.
In the village of Roxana, the first classes were held in a Shell Oil Company staff house on East Tydeman Avenue. The first Roxana School was built on the Old Edwardsville Road about 1918.
Edison School was built in 1926. A gymnasium and stage were added to this structure six years later. Edison School was a two-room junior high school, which was later converted into a primary grade school. Currently the Roxana Public Library is located on this site.
In 1936, Burbank School was built with Works Progress Administration (WPA) Funds. After Burbank School was available, the old Roxana School on Old Edwardsville Road was sold to a trucking company. The Burbank-Edison-Brushey Grove Schools comprised School District 103. District 103 did not have a secondary school; therefore, students had to attend high schools in neighboring districts.
In 1939, the citizens of Roxana and eastern Wood River (District 103) voted to form a new high school district. This new district was called Roxana School District 156. In 1941, the high school was completed enough so that the fall semester began with one hundred fifty-five students. The original high school plant consisted of twelve classrooms, a library, gymnasium and office.
The Wanda-South Roxana School District was numbered 105. Wanda School was built in 1923. The old South Roxana School, which was on the site of an abandoned trucking company, was built in 1927. This building has since been razed.
In 1949, a University of Illinois survey team recommended the merger of school districts 103, 105, and 156 to form a unified school district. This merger was enacted by referendum in 1950 and supported by court action in the same year. This merger also signaled the first consolidation of school districts to a UNIT district in Madison County. Therefore after the successful vote the consolidated school districts became known as the Roxana Community Unit School District No. 1.
On January 7, 1954 the large gymnasium at the high school was dedicated. At this same time open house tours were given for Rosewood, Central, South, the Junior High School and additions to the High School. A copy of a portion of the program explaining the various locations is included in the following pages. Land was purchased on route 111 to the east of what is now Wal Mart with thoughts for building a junior high at one time. However, in the mid ‘80's the land was sold to the city of Wood River and is now part of the water retention basin for that area. An intriguing possibility occurred in 1966 when some thought was given and a study was done to examine the possibility of purchasing the movie theatre in Roxana for an administrative center and area for theatrical performances with the remainder of the land for future development of a junior high. However, for some reason the idea did not move beyond the study stage.
Declining enrollments in the 1970's signaled the need for district reorganization and the result was the closing of Burbank school in 1983 (bought by a doctor) and Rosewood School in 1989 (razed) along with the creation of a sixth grade center in the bottom floor of the junior high.
The following is a copy of an article that ran in the Wood River Journal, September 19, 1957 special edition celebrating the Wood River Township Golden Anniversary. While some of the information is a repeat of earlier information it is interesting to note the nuances in the stories. The article was copied in its entirety from the edition of the paper. Also keep in mind the article was written in 1957. Therefore, some of the persons mentioned will now be deceased as well as some of the buildings have been razed such as Edison School (the current location of the Roxana Library) and Brushy Grove School (now the site of Firstar Bank). The Wanda School has been converted to a personal residence.