Prepare for Back to School by Studying the History of Toledo High Schools

Summer is wrapping up and many area schools are in the process of getting ready to welcome their students back for a new year. To prepare for this transition, the Local History department has pulled out some resources on the history of the high schools in the Toledo Public Schools district.

Be sure to check out our incredible collection of yearbooks for each of these schools! Digitized versions can be found here.

Scott High School, Toledo, Ohio (approximately 1920)

Meet sister schools Scott and Waite! These high schools were constructed to replace Toledo Central High School (images above) and are the oldest schools still in operation for Toledo Public Schools.

Scott High School was named after Jesup W. Scott, Toledo Blade editor and founder of the Toledo University of Arts and Trades, now known as the University of Toledo. Scott High School opened on September 8, 1913, welcoming 1,193 students, many of whom came from the Central High School — as did the school bell, which came over from the original 1854 building.

Waite High School was named after Morrison R. Waite, a prominent Toledo attorney who served as the seventh Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court. The school opened in 1914, welcoming students from Central High School as well as East Side Central.

As sister schools, Scott and Waite were developed by the same architect and had similar designs. Built in the English Collegiate Gothic Design, each building was 380 feet long and 210 feet deep. Each had multiple labs, manual training rooms, and large auditoriums. Also, as a librarian, I was fascinated to learn that Scott sold over 28,000 postcards in order to fund books to fill their library shelves, as the entire Central library went to Waite.

Waite High School, Toledo, Ohio

Jesup W. Scott High School, Toledo, Ohio

Waite High School, Toledo, Ohio

DeVilbiss High School, Front Facade, Toledo, Ohio (approximately 1941)

DeVilbiss High School was named after prominent Toledoan Thomas A. DeVilbiss, a local businessman who turned his father’s medical invention into a successful global business. DeVilbiss opened its doors in 1931, welcoming students from Scott and Woodward High Schools. Built in the Colonial style, it is the largest Toledo school building at 435 feet long, with a cafeteria that could seat 432 students!

Due to declining population, the school closed in 1991. But thankfully, a new school found a home in the building. Today, DeVilbiss is the Toledo Technology Academy, which opened in 1997, and is also the home to the International Studies Center.

DeVilbiss High School, Toledo, Ohio

Libbey High School, Toledo, Ohio (approximately 1927)

Libbey High School was located in Toledo’s South End and named after Edward Drummond Libbey, owner of Libbey Glass Company and founder of the Toledo Museum of Art. The school first opened its doors to students in September 1923, welcoming 1,500 students and 93 faculty.

Libbey, unfortunately, closed at the end of the 2010 school year and was demolished in 2012.

Libbey High School, Toledo Ohio

Bowsher High School, Toledo, Ohio

Bowsher High School is named after Edward Bowsher, one of the longest serving superintendents of TPS, and officially welcomed 1,232 students in September 1962. It was the same year that Start had opened, and it was the first time in the district’s history that two high schools opened in the same year.

Aerial view of Start High School, Toledo, Ohio

Named after Toledo mayor, pharmacist, and founder of the West Toledo YMCA Roy C. Start, Start High school opened its doors in 1962 and since its opening has maintained a consistent enrollment of around 1,800 students.

Rodgers High School, Toledo, Ohio (approximately 1956)

Named after Adams Township Board Member Robert Rogers, Rogers High school officially opened on September 5, 1956, welcoming 500 students. Adams Township became part of Toledo in 1966, becoming part of the TPS district. Since then, Rogers has seen enrollment drastically increase, with a peak enrollment of 2,400 in 1972.

Woodward High School, Toledo, Ohio

Woodward began as a technical training school in the old Central High School building. North Toledo was in desperate need of a high school in the late 1920s, however, and Woodward High School opened its doors to students, with the technical school changing its name from Woodward to Vocational School.

Impress your friends with this fact: Woodward is the only school not named after a Toledo resident. It was named for Calvin Woodward, who pioneered training schools in St. Louis.

Interested in learning more about the schools in our area? Much of the information for this blog came from the amazing book A Chance for Every Child, which covers the history of schools in Toledo, along with the resources of the Local History Digital Collection .

Need help with your studies? Fear not, the Library is here to help. Check out all our amazing homework help resources here.