Topeka High School Historical Society history

In 1882, the first black student graduated from Topeka High.

Attendance continued to outgrow the capacity of the school facilities, and in 1894 a new school was completed on the northwest corner of 8th and Harrison, at a cost of $85,000.

Topeka High School's student population had reached 1,000 by 1903, and a decision was made to construct a Manual Training High School across the street on the southwest corner of 8th and Harrison, at a cost of $100,000.

In 1921, Topeka High's cafeteria cook Ida M. Moyer was declared "Champion Pie Baker of the World". It was calculated that over the previous 6 years, Moyer had baked 37,248 pies.

Soon after, a portable frame building was constructed to serve as a study hall and library, and in 1923, an administration building known as 'The Annex' was added to the west side of the south building.

Topeka High's 'Hoehner Auditorium' was selected as the site for the inauguration of Kansas Governor Payne Ratner, on January 9, 1939.

Restructuring of the district curriculum meant that in 1980, students in the 9th grade would begin attending high school.

In 1984, Topeka High installed a computer-assisted automated dialing device which called home each time a student was truant.

In 2001, Topeka High awarded an honorary diploma to the Honorable Eric S. Rosen, Justice, Kansas Supreme Court—a longtime supporter of the school.

After years of wear, a replacement spar, also from the USS Constitution, was installed in 2004.

The school celebrated its 75th Anniversary at its current site on September 17, 2006.

The annual Martin Luther King event, sponsored by the state of Kansas, took place in Hoehner Auditorium in 2012.