Olympia High School (OHS), commonly referred to as Oly, is a public high school in the southeast part of Olympia,

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

along the city's border with

Tumwater Tumwater is a town in Thurston County, Washington, United States. The population was 25,350 at the 2020 census. It is situated near where the Deschutes River enters Budd Inlet, the southernmost point of Puget Sound; it also borders the state ca ...

. It is the oldest of two comprehensive high schools in the Olympia School District, and also one of the oldest public secondary schools in the state of Washington.

History

Olympia High School opened in 1849 as additional public schooling beyond 1-8 curriculum, and graduated its first class in 1849. OHS shared a few locations with elementary schools before having its own building in 1907, when OHS became officially named William Winlock Miller School, a high school. The 1907 building was built on a square block donated by the widow of pioneer leader William Winlock Miller on ground immediately east of the today's sunken gardens, part of the Washington State Capitol Campus. That building burned in 1918, its Tenino sandstone was salvaged in 1920 to construct the face of the Power House on Capitol Lake, used to heat Washington's permanent capitol campus that proceeded in construction. The next structure for W.W. Miller High School was built in 1919 between 12th and 13th Streets on Capitol Way because the state had purchased the land near the sunken garden to increase the Capitol grounds. An auditorium, gymnasium, and more classrooms were added to that building in 1926; however, any further expansion on this site was impossible. As the school's capacity needed increasing, between Carlyon Avenue and North Street were purchased. Until 1955, Oly drew students from all of

Thurston County, Washington Thurston County is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, its population was 294,793. The county seat and largest city is Olympia, the state capital. Thurston County was created out of Lewis County by the g ...

, except its most southern reaches. But Oly's catchment area split in 1955 with the creation

North Thurston High School North Thurston High School, located in the North Thurston Public Schools District in Lacey, Washington, is a comprehensive high school which opened in 1955. North Thurston serves a portion of Lacey and northeast Thurston County. The school is ...

, then split again in 1961 as Tumwater High School opened, then once again with the spawning of Capital High School in 1975. Today's location of OHS opened in 1961, and underwent a full renovation, completed in the summer of 2000 that enclosed the 9 separate buildings of the 1961 design.

Sports

Olympia High School is a 4A-division member of the

Washington Interscholastic Activities Association The Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) is the governing body of athletics and activities for secondary education schools in the state of Washington. As of February 2011, the private, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization consists ...

. Olympia High School is known for their athletics teams consistently placing in the top 10 for the 4A classification. State Championships, second place: Boys' Basketball - 1987, 1998; Girls' Golf - 1997; Girls' Gymnastics - 1998; Girls' Soccer - 1988, 1995; Boys' Swimming - 1958, 1970, 1972; Girls' Swimming - 1989, 1995; Boys' Tennis - 1979, 1982, 1990, 2007; Girls' Tennis - 1982, 1999; Girls' Volleyball - 1981; Baseball - 2019; Girls' Bowling - 2022

Notable alumni

* General

Muir S. Fairchild General (United States), General Muir Stephen Fairchild (September 2, 1894 – March 17, 1950) was a United States Air Force officer and the service's second Vice Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force, Vice Chief of Staff. Early service ...

, 1913, Vice Chief of Staff for USAF, first Academy commander, key air war strategist in World War II, World War I Flyboy * Eric Alexander, 1986, Jazz musician * Gerry L. Alexander, 1954, Chief Justice,

Washington State Supreme Court The Washington Supreme Court is the highest court in the judiciary of the U.S. state of Washington. The court is composed of a chief justice and eight associate justices. Members of the court are elected to six-year terms. Justices must retire ...

Floyd Brown Floyd Gregory Brown (born March 10, 1961) is an American author, speaker, and media commentator. He is formerly the CEO of USA Radio Network. Brown founded the conservative website '' Western Journalism'' in 2008. Brown in his early career worked ...

, 1980, author, speaker and media commentator *

Adam Conley Adam Michael Conley (born May 24, 1990) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Miami Marlins from 2015 to 2019 and the Tampa Bay Rays in 2021. Career Miami Marlins Conley was drafted ...

, 2008, current

MLB Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

player (

Miami Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park. The franc ...

) *

Gretchen Christopher The Fleetwoods were an American vocal group from Olympia, Washington whose members were Gary Troxel (born November 28, 1939), Gretchen Christopher (born February 29, 1940), and Barbara Ellis (born February 20, 1940). Early history The band mem ...

, 1958, singer,

The Fleetwoods The Fleetwoods were an American vocal group from Olympia, Washington whose members were Gary Troxel (born November 28, 1939), Gretchen Christopher (born February 29, 1940), and Barbara Ellis (born February 20, 1940). Early history The band mem ...

Bruce P. Crandall Bruce Perry Crandall (born February 17, 1933) is a retired United States Army officer who received the Medal of Honor for his actions as a pilot during the Battle of Ia Drang on November 14, 1965, in South Vietnam. During the battle, he flew 22 ...

, 1951, Lieutenant Colonel, United States Army (Ret.) (Medal of Honor Receipiant)(helicopter pilot, call sign "Snake", in movie ''

We Were Soldiers ''We Were Soldiers'' is a 2002 war film written and directed by Randall Wallace and starring Mel Gibson. Based on the book '' We Were Soldiers Once… and Young'' (1992) by Lieutenant General (Ret.) Hal Moore and reporter Joseph L. Galloway, i ...

'') *

Daniella Deutscher Daniella Maria Deutscher (born October 4, 1975), also sometimes credited as Daniella Wolters, is an American actress, best known for playing the role of Julie Connor on the American Saturday morning television series '' Hang Time'' (1995–200 ...

, 1994, actress *

Barbara Ellis The Fleetwoods were an American vocal group from Olympia, Washington whose members were Gary Troxel (born November 28, 1939), Gretchen Christopher (born February 29, 1940), and Barbara Ellis (born February 20, 1940). Early history The band mem ...

, 1958, singer,

Ira Flagstead Ira James Flagstead (September 22, 1893 – March 13, 1940), sometimes known as "Pete", was an American baseball player. He played 15 years of professional baseball, principally as an outfielder, including 13 years in Major League Baseball with ...

, 1911(?), former

player (

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

, Boston Braves, Washington Senators,

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 ...

) *

Rickie Lee Jones Rickie Lee Jones (born November 8, 1954) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and author. Over the course of a career that spans five decades, she has recorded in various musical styles including Rock music, rock, Rhythm and blues, R&B ...

, 1974, singer, songwriter, producer * Kathleen Hays, 1970, financial reporter on the Bloomberg TV network *

Douglas Massey Douglas Steven Massey (born October 5, 1952 in Olympia, Washington, United States) is an American sociologist. Massey is currently a professor of Sociology at the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University and ...

, 1970, professor of

sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of Empirical ...

and former president (2000–01) of the

American Sociological Association The American Sociological Association (ASA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing the discipline and profession of sociology. Founded in December 1905 as the American Sociological Society at Johns Hopkins University by a group of fif ...

Bill Moos William H. Moos (born circa 1951) is an American former college athletics administrator and college football player. He served as the athletic director at the University of Montana from 1990 to 1995, the University of Oregon from 1995 to 2007, Wa ...

1969, Director of Athletics at the University of Nebraska * Moon Mullen, 1935(?) former

player (

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

) *

Joy Osmanski Joy Osmanski is a South Korean-born American actress. She is best known for her wide range of comedic roles on the TV shows ''The Loop (U.S. TV series), The Loop'', ''Samantha Who?'', ''True Jackson, VP'' and ''Devious Maids''. Joy is also known ...

, 1993, actress, television series '' The Loop'' and

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia ''It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia'' is an American sitcom created by Rob McElhenney and developed by McElhenney and Glenn Howerton that premiered on August 4, 2005 on FX and later FXX beginning with the ninth season in 2013. It stars Charlie ...

Don Rich Donald Eugene Ulrich (August 15, 1941 – July 17, 1974), best known by the stage name Don Rich, was an American country musician who helped develop the Bakersfield sound in the early 1960s. He was a noted guitarist and fiddler, and a ...

, 1959, guitarist/fiddler/band leader for

Buck Owens Alvis Edgar Owens Jr. (August 12, 1929 – March 25, 2006), known professionally as Buck Owens, was an American musician, singer, songwriter, and band leader. He was the lead singer for the Buckaroos, Buck Owens and the Buckaroos, which had 21 ...

and

the Buckaroos The Buckaroos were an American band led by Buck Owens in the 1960s and early 1970s, who, along with Merle Haggard's The Strangers (American band), The Strangers, were involved in the development and presentation of the "Bakersfield sound." Their ...

* Travis Shook, 1986, jazz musician * Irene Stewart, 1975, Seattle School Board member *

Gary Troxel The Fleetwoods were an American vocal group from Olympia, Washington whose members were Gary Troxel (born November 28, 1939), Gretchen Christopher (born February 29, 1940), and Barbara Ellis (born February 20, 1940). Early history The band mem ...

, 1958, singer,

Bud Ward Marvin Harvey "Bud" Ward (May 1, 1913 – January 2, 1968) was an American golfer best known for twice winning the U.S. Amateur, in 1939 and 1941. Ward was born in Elma, Washington. He excelled as an amateur golfer, winning the U.S. Amateur tw ...

, 1932, two-time winner of the US Amateur Golf Championship (1939, 1941)

References

External links

School websiteSchool District
{{authority control High schools in Thurston County, Washington History of Olympia, Washington Schools in Olympia, Washington Public high schools in Washington (state) 1882 establishments in the United States