Santa Rosa High School history

In 1874, Santa Rosa High School opened its doors as the eighth high school in California.

The first class graduated in 1878.

SRHS closed its doors in 1881 because of a lack of funding, but it opened again the next year and has remained in session ever since.

His father, Winfield had been one of the richest men in the county, owning great swaths of land between the coast and Santa Rosa; Winfield’s 1892 obituary says he had about 4,500 acres but in the preceding years he was spotted regularly selling hundreds of acres to his only son, Sampson.

Starting around 1919, however, Sampson B. Wright began devoting his energies to a new project: Being the angry taxpayer fighting the Board of Supervisors.

It was January 1920, the start of the sixteenth month of the Spanish Flu in Sonoma County.

Wright’s contention is reported to be that the State legislature erred in attempting to delegate certain power to county superintendent of schools together with a single supervisor, rather than to the board of supervisors as a whole… [section of 1921 law cited]

Early in April 1922, Santa Rosa voted in favor of those bonds by an astonishing majority of 27 to 1.

In a memorable 1923 showdown, Wright and his anti-tax buddies stormed the Supervisors meeting to insist the county shut down its auto garage and fire all the mechanics. “When asked to name a way in which the county cars can be cared for they had nothing to offer.”

The school was moved to its current location and opened in 1924.

In 1925 the football field at Santa Rosa High School was renamed Nevers Field in his honor.

During the school year of 1962-63, the buildings were rebuilt to the earthquake standards of state legislation.

In 2004, just in time for the homecoming game, a $2 million refurbishment of Nevers Field was completed.