Boston College High School - History

History

On March 31, 1863, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts approved a charter for the incorporation of Boston College. Fr. Johannes Bapst, SJ, was selected first president and presided over the original grounds on Harrison Avenue in Boston's South End. For most of its early history, BC offered a singular 7-year program corresponding to both high school and college. Its first entering class of 22 students ranged in age from 11 to 16 years. The curriculum was based on the Jesuit Ratio Studiorum, emphasizing Latin, Greek, philosophy and theology. While BC's mission, as articulated by founder Fr. John McElroy, SJ, was to "educate pupils in the principles and practice of the Catholic faith," its founding documents reflect the historical realities of the time. The great influx of immigrants to Boston in the nineteenth century corresponded with growing anti-Catholic sentiment among the city's aristocratic elite. As a result, BC's charter was revolutionary for its time in stating that "the profession of religion will not be a necessary condition for admission to the College."

By the start of the 20th century, BC's enrollment had reached nearly 500. Expansion of the South End buildings onto James Street enabled increased division between the high school and the college. The 1907 purchase of farmland for a new college campus in Chestnut Hill allowed BC High to fully expand into the South End buildings, though it remained a constituent part of Boston College until 1927 when it was separately incorporated. Nonetheless, traditional ties between BC High and BC have survived, and Boston College remains a leading destination for BC High graduates. Alumni who graduate from both institutions are called "Double Eagles" (with "Triple Eagles" going on to Boston College Law School).

Following the Great Depression, BC High was characterized by increasing enrollment and aging facilities. By the 1940s, the South End buildings proved inadequate once again. Overcrowding and a demand for athletic fields led President Fr. Robert A. Hewitt, SJ, to purchase 70 acres (28 ha) on Columbia Point, in the Boston neighborhood of Dorchester in 1948, a move that was controversial at the time. At a cost of $240,000, critics warned that BC High would be abandoning its city roots and moving to an undeveloped part of the city. But Father Hewitt had a vision, and he dreamed of "a modern high school with a full range of scholastic facilities, including science laboratories, and a library; the necessary ecclesiastical facilities, including a Jesuit faculty residence and a church; a wide range of athletic facilities, including a gymnasium, field house, and outdoor areas for a variety of sports, both interscholastic and intramural, and areas for general recreation, faculty walks, parking and campus landscaping."

Father Hewitt's dream began to see fruition in 1950, with the opening of McElroy Hall and the relocation of the junior and senior classes to the new campus. By 1954, the entire student body had moved to Columbia Point, though members of the Jesuit Community remained at the South End Residence until 1957. In that year, Loyola Hall, the new Jesuit residence, was completed. Successive building campaigns saw the opening of the Walsh Hall Science Center in 1965, the Student Training, Athletic and Recreation Complex (S.T.A.R.) in 1975, Corcoran Library in 1997, and the multi-use McNeice Pavilion in 1988. William J. Kemeza is the current president of Boston College High School. He was the founder of BC High's Renaissance Campaign.