Perry High School history

A potential dam site had been surveyed in 1889, but area farmers lacked the resources to undertake such a monumental project.

In 1890, Doctor Chandler purchased 80 acres southeast of Phoenix and established his own small ranch and trading post.

Perry Public Schools was founded in 1893, just a couple months following the Cherokee Strip Land Run (Sept.

He is perhaps best known for the Mission Inn in Riverside, California, built in 1902.

Meanwhile, Doctor Chandler continued to acquire additional land; by 1904 his landholdings had grown to 18,000 acres.

The Chandler Schools Early School Buildings The first recorded school in the Chandler area was at the Chandler Ranch in 1907.

An October 10, 1913 article in the Chandler Arizonan announced that school enrollment in Chandler had passed the 200 mark and that another new unit was needed.

In 1919, the first of two bond issues was passed to allow the construction of a new, permanent high school building.

The first bond issue provided $121,800, while the second, approved in 1921, provided $170,000.

Chandler High School was formally dedicated on May 10, 1922.

In 1928, Doctor Chandler established the Chandler Heights Citrus District approximately 15 miles southeast of the townsite.

The school song is Dear Ole Perry High and was written by Warenne Kennedy Harris in 1932.

An April 13, 1939 article in the Chandler Arizonan touted the new building as “one of the finest in Arizona … as modern as up-to-date builders and equipment furnishers can make it.” The work was funded by a $33,000 bond issue as well as a $27,000 federal grant from the Public Works Administration.

A new Home Economics Building was constructed in 1950.

In 1962, while Arizonans celebrated the 50th anniversary of statehood, the people of Chandler had a special celebration of their own, commemorating their city’s 50th year with a weeklong Golden Jubilee.

In 1966, PHS students, Paul Ley and Harold Price created a “Maroon Man Shield” to represent all phases of school life for a classroom assignment.

In 1968, the South Annex was created when the Cleveland Elementary School (originally the Chandler Grammar School) closed.

In 1975, the Chandler Elementary and High School Districts were officially unified to create the Chandler Unified School District.

The entire commercial district would be connected with a type of open colonnade known as a “pergola.” The centerpiece of the town would be the elegant Hotel San Marcos (NRHP listed 4/29/1982), designed by California architect Arthur Burnett Benton.

Campus renovations continued in 1987 when the following items were added: ramadas, a locker shelter, covered walkways, bus loading benches and shelters, a perimeter masonry fence and landscaping, and parking lot west of the Arts Building.

Staples' saying: "If you want to succeed, you gotta pay the price!"Coach Fessor Staples was America's all-time winnings high school coach until 1990 (25 years after he retired).

In 1996, the original high school building was extensively renovated and renamed “Old Main.” The updated building contained 48 classrooms, storage and restrooms.

By 1998, enrollment was increasing so rapidly that the Chandler Unified School District opened its second high school, Hamilton, at Arizona Avenue and Ocotillo Road, approximately four miles south of Chandler High School.

The most recent chapter of Chandler High School’s campus expansion began in November 2002, when Chandler voters approved a $60 million school bond package.

A 2005 census estimate put the fast-growing city’s population at 234,939, making it the fifth largest city in Arizona.