Bolton High School (Louisiana) - Modest Beginnings

Modest Beginnings

Bolton actually began in 1888 as a six-room framed structure on the corner of Seventh and Johnston Streets, next to what was then called the Red Ditch, for all then existing eleven grades. In 1900, as pushed by then-president of Alexandria Central High School, a brick building replaced the original structure at a cost of $50,000. During the 1907-1908 academic year, Alexandria High School, as it was known, enrolled only fifty-six students, with three instructors. Within seven years, enrollment grew to some two hundred, with eight faculty members.

James Bolton, a member of the Rapides Parish School Board, proposed a separate building for high school students. He therefore purchased land at Sixth and Beauregard streets for the consideration of the board. On that site, the original Bolton High School, named for James Bolton, was constructed in 1915, a structure for up to four hundred students. Records show that for the year 1916-1917, there were few more than 300 students, with 45 graduates and fifteen teachers. For the first eleven years, enrollment increased from three hundred to nine hundred students. The overflow was handled through the old Presbyterian church next door and temporary frame building.

Before the school was officially opened, there was an open house of sorts held in the school on September 25, 1915. The people were able to see their achievements towards education, and multiple teachers were stationed around the school, explaining the many merits of the different departments. 41 pupils graduated the first year it opened.

As board president, Bolton obtained the purchase of 15 acres (61,000 m2) for a new school, located adjacent to the City Park. The current building opened on November 2, 1926. The building contractor, George A. Caldwell, also designed twenty-five other public buildings in Louisiana, including courthouses in Baton Rouge, Minden, and Monroe.