Biddeford High School (BHS) is a public high school in

Biddeford, Maine Biddeford is a city in York County, Maine, United States. It is the principal commercial center of York County. Its population was 22,552 at the 2020 census. The twin cities of Saco and Biddeford include the resort communities of Biddeford Poo ...

, United States. It is the secondary school for Biddeford Public Schools, a

school district A school district is a special-purpose district that operates local public primary and secondary schools in various nations. North America United States In the U.S, most K–12 public schools function as units of local school districts, wh ...

which exclusively serves the city of Biddeford.

History

The first public high school in Biddeford was established in 1848. The building for the high school was erected on Washington Street close to the city's downtown. After a rise in Biddeford's population in the late 19th-century, a new high school was constructed in 1888 on a lot in close-by Alfred Street. The former high school building on Washington Street was then converted to a primary school before being demolished in the 1960s. The high school moved to its new building in 1890. The Alfred Street building suffered a massive fire in 1893 and was promptly rebuilt. A rear annex and gymnasium were added in 1925. The high school moved out of the Alfred Street building in the 1960s to its present location farther away from the Downtown core. This coincided with the establishment of the Biddeford Regional Center of Technology in 1969 located at the same location.

Sports

Biddeford High School football has won 12 football state championships since 1950. The school has a long-standing football

rivalry A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant o ...

with Saco's

Thornton Academy Thornton Academy (often abbreviated as TA) is a co-educational, independent boarding and day school serving grades 9–12 located in Saco, Maine. Thornton Academy also opened a full-time, private junior high school on its campus, named Thornton Ac ...

dating to 1893 which is referred to as the "Battle of the Bridges" by residents of both communities. This is in reference to the multiple bridges which interconnect the two cities over the

Saco River The Saco River (Abenaki language, Abenaki: ''Sαkóhki'') is a river in northeastern New Hampshire and southwestern Maine in the United States. It drains a rural area of of forests and farmlands west and southwest of Portland, Maine, Portland ...

. After Biddeford High School was demoted to Class B in 2015, the two teams no longer compete with one another in state championships.

Notable alumni

* Fred Davis Jr. - politician *

Brian Dumoulin Brian Joseph Dumoulin (born September 6, 1991) is an American professional ice hockey defenseman for the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League (NHL). Dumoulin was selected by the Carolina Hurricanes in the 2nd round (51st overall) of ...

- professional ice hockey player *

Ryan Fecteau Ryan Michael Fecteau (born September 18, 1992) is the Speaker of the Maine House of Representatives. A Democrat, Fecteau serves Maine House District 11, consisting of a portion of Biddeford. At the time of his election as Speaker of the House in ...

- politician and the Speaker of the Maine House of Representatives * Dennis Gadbois - former football wide receiver

Notable staff

Alan Casavant Alan M. Casavant (born July 26, 1952) is an American politician from Maine. Casavant, a Democrat, represented District 137 in the Maine House of Representatives from 2006 to 2014. District 137 comprised portions of Biddeford and Kennebunk. Cas ...

- politician and teacher

References

{{authority control Public high schools in Maine Schools in York County, Maine Education in Biddeford, Maine