Antioch Community High School - History

History

ACHS was built in 1915 at 1133 Main Street, where it has remained since then. Though the original building was razed in the late 1990s to make room for new facilities, it has undergone numerous additions and a name change throughout its history. ACHS was originally named Antioch Township High School when is was founded in 1915. In February 1926, voters approved $65,000 to build a two-story north wing to the existing high school, which served 184 students at the time. In 1953, the school was improved once again with the addition of a new wing expanding the school further north. The old gym was converted into an auditorium large enough to hold the 382 students enrolled at the time, and new gym was added, in addition to new class rooms and office space. In November 1962, an addition was made to the west of the school. Science labs, a cafeteria, classrooms, and a library blocked the view of the original Antioch Township High School which was renamed Antioch Community High School the following year. In 1972, additions where needed again to house the 1,377 students enrolled. Additions to the north wing added drivers ed. and fine arts facilities, a new gym, lockers, 24 classrooms, and a commons area. But only 26 years later, the school underwent a major renovation to accommodate the population boom in the 1990s. The original building was razed in 1998 to pave the way for extensive remodeling and new additions. A third gymnasium was built in 2004. More than $16 million in renovations have been made since 2003.

The current ACHS logo was created in the early 1970s by John O'Hara for the football squad. Other sports teams soon adopted the logo as their own, and before long the image was used as a school wide symbol. According the ACHS website: "The "A" in the center stands for Antioch (naturally) and the circle surrounding it represents unity of the students and athletes who wear the symbol. The arrow always faces forward, symbolizing the need to move ahead and overcome obstacles. Two feathers below the arrow represent teamwork and working together to achieve success."

There is no Native American tribe named "Sequoit" (pronounced see-kwoyt) or any Native American word for that matter. Though the word "sequoit" has Native American origins, the story behind the name is a complicated and confusing one. Fred Willman explained in his in-depth book examining Illinois high school nicknames, "Why Mascots Have Tales", "The word Sequoit is a form of spelling of the Iroquois Indian word Sa-da-quoit, which was the name the Iroquois Indians gave to a stream that flows through Oneida County in New York state. In the Iroquois language, Sa-da-quoit literally means 'smooth pebbles in the bed of a stream.' When white settlers moved into Oneida County, they modified the spelling and pronunciation of the stream to Sauquoit Creek."

Antioch's first settlers, Darius and Thomas Gage, traveled west from the Oneida County, and named the stream that ran past their land "Sequoit Creek" because it reminded them of Sauquoit Creek back home. Many local businesses, and ACHS sports teams, used "sequoit" in their names. In its early years, students would dress in Native American apparel and perform during half-time, but over time the performances died out. But the sequoit logo and spirit have remained intact throughout the ages.