History of Burgettstown
"History of Burgettstown High School"
Union High School originally represented the combined educational efforts of Burgettstown Borough and Smith Township. The two school boards met in 1917 and decided to erect a joint high school. Construction was started, but it was not until after the Christmas holidays of 1918 that the student body was able to occupy the building.
Approximately 150 students were enrolled in Union High School when it first opened and attendance was increased year by year, the 1974-75 enrollment being over 1,350 students. Facilities at “Old U.H.S.” included a main building, industrial arts, music building, mechanical drawing building and home economics buildings, each under separate roofs. Special facilities included an auditorium and gymnasium, administration office, office of the supervising principal, teacher’s room and a health room; however, neither a cafeteria nor kitchen was provided for in the building.
After enduring forty-six years and perhaps ten thousand students, the school was completely destroyed by fire on Thursday, March 21, 1963 at 4:45pm. The school was completely destroyed in less than three hours. The reported cause of the fire was faulty electrical wiring. The blaze was discovered by the janitor in the ceiling near the front of the auditorium.
Many important documents and records were saved, but thousands of other items were lost. Old Union High School died on a March day, but the memories associated with it live on.Fortunately, the new Burgettstown Area Junior-High School was in the process of construction. Even though the building was incomplete, occupancy was necessary, due to the disaster. Classes such as home economics, art, physical education, industrial arts, etc., could not be resumed. The school year was completed under this handicap. The 1963-64 school year saw the completion of the building. The joint efforts of Burgettstown Borough, Smith Township, and Jefferson Township were realized.
During the 1965-66 academic year, Hanover Township officially became part of this school district. At this time, students from this area became part of the “Blue Devil” team. With the beginning of the 1976-77 school year, the official name of the high school became Burgettstown Area Junior-High School. During the school year 2000-2001, the District changed the instructional program of the school to address middle level education. As of July 1, 2001, the school became known as Burgettstown Area Middle-High School. In 2007, the district renovationed/updated Burgettstown Area Middle-High School.