1954
Lawrence High School
Lawrence High School has a rich and proud heritage. Its history is one of excellence in academics and extracurricular activities. Public donations in 1857 built the Quincy School, which was held in the basement of the Unitarian church. In 1860, Lawrence received an amended charter which enabled the city to establish a public school system of eight grades. Central School, at Ninth and Kentucky, was built in 1865.
Liberty Memorial High School was brought about when the students supported a bond issue for a memorial to 18 service men of World War I. To raise the money for their campaigning, The Budget was delivered by 102 students to each home. A similar bond campaign went on in 1949 when students of Lawrence assisted in a successful drive to build Lawrence High School at 19th and Louisiana Streets. From that has come the slogan, “a gift of the citizens of Lawrence to their Children.” The amount of the bond proposal was $2,620,000. From this came $1.8 million for the building, including furniture.
The high school was moved from Liberty Memorial High School at 14th and Massachusetts to Lawrence High School at 19th and Louisiana on March 26, 1954. Since this time there has been numerous additions and improvements to what is the current edition of Lawrence High School.
Step Sponsored By: Jean Dirks and Tom Cravens and Lawrence High School