City of Altus history

Grover Cleveland’s first termThe surplus and the tariffThe public domainThe Interstate Commerce ActThe election of 1888

The Benjamin Harrison administrationThe Sherman Antitrust ActThe silver issueThe McKinley tariffThe agrarian revoltThe PopulistsThe election of 1892

In September of 1903, the citizens of Altus passed a bond that $9,500 would be used to build and furnish a new school.

Located on the same site as the Washington Elementary School building, the left half of this early Altus school building was built out of rock in 1904, at a cost of $4,000.

In 1908, Miss Addie Fowler was the first graduate of Altus High School.

The town continued to grow rapidly and a new high school was completed in 1920 on the corner of Broadway and Spurgeon,across the street from where McDonald’s now stands.

Altus was still rapidly growing, and when a bond issue was passed, the present Altus High School was constructed in 1930 on the eastern edge of town in the country.

In 1941, Hightower Memorial Stadium was built as a WPA project.

World War IIThe road to warThe United States at warWar productionFinancing the warSocial consequences of the warThe 1944 electionThe new United States role in world affairs

The peak Cold War years, 1945–60The Truman Doctrine and containmentPostwar domestic reorganizationThe Red ScareThe Korean WarPeace, growth, and prosperityEisenhower’s second termDomestic issuesWorld affairsAn assessment of the postwar era

In 1956, the AHS gymnasium, now called Cletus B. Street Field House, was added to the campus at a cost of $205,000.

In August of 2008, MAPS for Altus, a sales tax in support of Altus Schools and the City of Altus, was approved by an overwhelming rate of 76 percent.

The 2010 midterm elections

The Iran nuclear deal, the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013, and the Ukraine crisis

In the Winter of 2014, the Chuck “Doc” Tennessen Athletic Training Facility was opened on the Altus High School campus.