Anaheim Union High School District history

1860 – Anaheim’s first school opens in an adobe building located on a lot owned by August Langenberger, a prominent merchant and colony leader.

1867 – Anaheim School District is formed.

1870 – The first monthly report of Anaheim students lists an enrollment of 91 students, divided into two departments (Primary and Grammar) and taught by two teachers.

1874 – Guinn, a graduate of Oberlin College in Ohio, serves as teacher and principal, offering subjects for high school diploma and classifies students into grades.

1878 – Guinn writes and champions a bond to construct a new school building, raising $10,000.

1880 – Matilda Rimpau, daughter of Anaheim pioneer Theodore Rimpau, is the first student in the Anaheim school system to earn a high school diploma.

1898 – High school classes officially begin on the second floor of Central School after C.P. Evans, principal of Loara Elementary School, convinces the school board that classes should extend past the ninth year.

1901 – When Central School becomes overcrowded, citizens fund a $12,500 bond measure to buy land, build a separate high school building and equip it.

1902 – The high school’s first literary effort, The Stentorian, is published in February and sold for 50 cents per year.

1910 – The student body is outgrowing Central School.

1918 – Class of 1918 becomes the first to wear caps and gowns at graduation.

1924 – First high school swimming pool in Orange County opens.

1928 – Principal Joseph Clayes, who first joined the school staff as a teacher of art and commerce, designed the first logo of a pilgrim profile embedded in the book-topped laurel wreath.

1933 – Long Beach earthquake irreparably damages AUHS, requiring its demolition.

1937 – A sunken garden and fountain in school’s central patio is created.

1959 – Anaheim plays Western in football, marking the first time Anaheim played a high school within the same district.

Shortly thereafter, a water polo team is established, the first since 1991.

2008 – Two new buildings with 49 state-of-the-art classrooms open.

2009 – In February of this year, Anaheim High graduates established the school’s first federal- and state-recognized non-profit corporation.

2017 – On December 28, demolition of Clayes Stadium begins.

2018 – In October of this year, the Fassel Fitness Center is dedicated by Jim Fassel ’67, in memory of his father, Bud Fassel, Anaheim High’s longtime athletic trainer.