Portland High School is a

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

established in 1821 in

Portland, Maine Portland is the largest city in the U.S. state of Maine and the seat of Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 in April 2020. The Greater Portland metropolitan area is home to over half a million people, the 104th-largest metropol ...

(

Cumberland County Cumberland County may refer to: Australia * Cumberland County, New South Wales * the former name of Cumberland Land District, Tasmania, Australia Canada *Cumberland County, Nova Scotia United Kingdom *Cumberland, historic county *Cumberlan ...

), United States, which educates grades 9–12. The school is part of the Portland Public Schools

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

, and is one of three high schools in that district, along with

Deering High School Deering High School (DHS) is a public high school in Portland, Maine, United States. The school is part of the Portland Public Schools district. It is one of the three public high schools located in Portland, the others being Portland High Scho ...

and Casco Bay High School. It is located at 284 Cumberland Avenue in downtown Portland. Along with its sister school,

, a family can choose which of the two to send their students to.

History

Established in 1821 originally as a boys' school, Portland High School is one of the oldest high schools in the United States. Joseph Libbey was its first principal. A separate school for girls was added in 1850, and in 1863 the school moved to Cumberland Avenue, its present location. The original school building on that site, which is now the middle wing of the modern school, was originally divided into two by a brick wall running from top to bottom of the building to divide the girls from the boys. Much of the wall has been removed, but its remains can still be seen in the basement. The main school was constructed between 1915 and 1918, according to the plaque by the front entrance. On February 15, 1919 the new Portland High School along Cumberland Avenue, opened. It was designed by Miller & Mayo. The new school had a lecture hall and mechanical arts classrooms. It also had two kitchen classrooms, three sewing rooms and two classrooms for typing. The school was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

on November 23, 1984. In 1989 a new annex was opened containing more classrooms, a cafeteria, a theater/auditorium (named for

John Ford John Martin Feeney (February 1, 1894 – August 31, 1973), known professionally as John Ford, was an American film director and naval officer. He is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers of his generation. He ...

) and an athletic facility. Approximately 700-1000 students are enrolled each year. In June 2010, 174 students graduated from Portland High School.

Sports

Portland High School uses the off-campus

Fitzpatrick Stadium James J. Fitzpatrick Stadium is a 6,000 seat multi-purpose outdoor stadium in Portland, Maine, United States. It is located between Interstate 295, Hadlock Field baseball stadium, King Middle School, and the Portland Exposition Building. It i ...

Hadlock Field Hadlock Field is a minor league baseball stadium in Portland, Maine. It is primarily home to the Portland Sea Dogs of the Eastern League but also the Portland High School Bulldogs and Deering High School Rams baseball teams. The stadium is name ...

, Portland Expo, and William B. Troubh(Portland Ice Arena) for the school's sporting events. The Deering High School and Portland High School football teams have played each other each

Thanksgiving Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in the United States, Canada, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Philippines. It is also observed in the Netherlander town of Leiden and ...

since 1911, except for 1920 and 2020.

Notable alumni

Ted Lowry "Tiger" Ted Lowry (October 27, 1919 – June 14, 2010) was an American journeyman boxer. Boxing career Ted Lowry's career started out strong, with 8 successful fights (7 wins, 1 draw), before losing to Sam Shumway, whom he had previously beaten ...

, heavyweight boxer *

Wyatt Allen Wyatt Allen (born January 11, 1979, in Baltimore, Maryland) is an American rower. Career Allen is a graduate of Portland High School and the University of Virginia, where he rowed on the men's club team from 1998 to 2001. In 2004, he won t ...

, Olympic gold and bronze medalist in rowing *

James Phinney Baxter III James Phinney Baxter III (February 15, 1893 in Portland, Maine – June 17, 1975 in Williamstown, Massachusetts) was an American historian, educator, and academic, who won the 1947 Pulitzer Prize for History for his book ''Scientists Against Time ...

* Paul Franklin Clark (1882–1983), bacteriologist and virologist *

(then known as John Martin Feeney), film director * Robert Hale, U.S. Congressman (1943-1959) *

Gail Laughlin Abbie "Gail" Hill Laughlin (May 7, 1868 – March 13, 1952) was an American lawyer, suffragist, an expert for the United States Industrial commission, and a member of the Maine State Senate. She was the first woman from Maine to practice law. She ...

, State senator, lawyer, and suffrage activist *

Dave Littlefield David Michael Littlefield (born June 16, 1960) is a former Major League Baseball executive, who is currently a scout for the Detroit Tigers. Previously, Littlefield was employed as Senior Vice President and General Manager of the Pittsburgh Pira ...

, Former Major League Baseball executive, Senior Vice President and General Manager of the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

* John Lynch,

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

* Admiral

Robert E. Peary Robert Edwin Peary Sr. (; May 6, 1856 – February 20, 1920) was an American explorer and officer in the United States Navy who made several expeditions to the Arctic in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He is best known for, in Apri ...

, explorer, first to claim to reach the

North Pole The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is the point in the Northern Hemisphere where the Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True North Pole to distinguish from the Mag ...

Quinton Porter Quinton George Porter (born December 28, 1982) is a former American professional gridiron football quarterback. He was on the practice squad for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL). He was originally signed by the Housto ...

, professional football player * Thomas B. Reed,

Speaker of the United States House of Representatives The speaker of the United States House of Representatives, commonly known as the speaker of the House, is the presiding officer of the United States House of Representatives. The office was established in 1789 by Article I, Section 2 of the U. ...

* Lois Rice, corporate executive, scholar and education policy expert *

Reginald Bartholomew Reginald Stanley Bartholomew (February 17, 1936 – August 26, 2012) was an American diplomat who served as U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon (1983–1986), Spain (1986–1989), and Italy (1993–1997). He was also a member of the American Academy of ...

, U.S. Diplomat/Ambassador (1936-2012) *

John Calvin Stevens John Calvin Stevens (October 8, 1855 – January 25, 1940) was an American architect who worked in the Shingle Style, in which he was a major innovator, and the Colonial Revival style. He designed more than 1,000 buildings in the state of Maine ...

, architect, pioneer of Shingle Style

Notes

External links

Portland High School homepage
provided by schooltree.org
Portland High LacrossePortland High Football
{{authority control Educational institutions established in 1821 Public high schools in Maine Schools in Portland, Maine School buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Maine 1821 establishments in Maine National Register of Historic Places in Portland, Maine

History

Sports

Notable alumni

See also

Notes

External links