Orchard Park High School history

The Jacob Eddy family, including most of their grown, married children, came to the area in about March 1805.

1806 - Didymus C. Kinney purchased land in the valley of 18-Mile Creek for the first school.

The first common school house that can be documented, District #5 School House, was constructed in the southwest part of present Orchard Park Township (then Hamburgh) sometime prior to March, 1820, when it is referenced as pre-existing in a deed.

Subscriptions were solicited to fund the project, and by November 1824 the library was begun with $102. in seed money.

1830 - “The Red Schoolhouse” was erected on what is now called East Quaker Street.

A decision was made in 1850 to separate Hamburgh’s east half from its west half, the new eastern Township to be named Ellicott.

By 1851, a series of events led the Seneca Native Americans to give up their Buffalo Creek Reservation, part of which lay north of East Hamburg, specifically, all of present-day Orchard Park Township located north of Webster Road.

Quaker John Allen and his wife, Chloe, purchased a large tract of land in 1854 bordering the south side of West Quaker and the west side of South Lincoln Streets.

1859 - The first brick school house was erected on the south side of West Quaker Street.

1866 - John Allen built a private boarding school known as the Academy.

1881 - The Academy’s main building was sold to the Town as the Union School.

Within months of that sale, in April, 1882, the remainder of the building, which was then being used for tenement housing, burned: “the large building at East Hamburgh known as the Quaker Academy caught fire as supposed from a defective chimney and with the contents was totally destroyed.

The railroad was extended to Orchard Park in 1883, and a very small wooden depot was built just south of the Thorn Avenue crossing.

1885 - A new school was built on the Academy site.

In 1900, this town of then 800 people saw an electric trolley line established to run between Buffalo and Orchard Park.

1904 - First Regents exams and diplomas - a milestone in New York State.

1914 - The new "Lincoln School" was erected for grades 1-12 at what is currently the site of the OP Boys & Girls Club.

1921 - North wing built on the Lincoln School.

In 1900, this town of then 800 people saw an electric trolley line established to run between Buffalo and Orchard Park. It was abandoned in 1932, when buses took the trolleys’ place but not their adventuresome thrill.

Finally, the entire township of East Hamburg became known as Orchard Park Township in 1934, the final “h” of Hamburgh having been lost about the time of World War I.

1936 - South wing added to the Lincoln building.

1944 - Five rural schools, Michael, Ellicott, Chestnut Ridge, Newton, and Milestrip Rd. were centralized into Orchard Park Central Schools.

1952 - South Davis Elementary was built.

1954 - Wing and swimming pool added to the Junior-High School (Now part of the Middle School).

1957 - Windom Elementary was built.

1960 - New Junior High was built. (Now part of the High School complex).

1965 - Eggert Elementary was built.

1968 - Ellicott Elementary was built.

1992 - An additional wing is added to the Middle School and elementary schools.

2011 - The Southwestern Boulevard property was purchased.

2016 - Ground was broken on the most recent capital project, which included renovations on the Middle School pool and auditorium.