Henderson High School (Pennsylvania)

The original school, named West Chester High School, was located at North Church and Biddle Streets in West Chester. The first graduating class was composed of five girls who graduated in 1866. The next graduation did not occur until 1869. Since that year, the school has graduated a class annually. In 1906, a new school was built adjacent to the old one on North Church Street. During this time the Garnet and White, the annual yearbook, was established and continues to this day. In 1923, the Student Council was created to help students and staff work together. With the expansion of athletics, the school needed room for sports fields. In 1923 a stadium was built on Penn Street and stands to this day. The stadium is named J. Oscar Dicks Stadium after the man on the School Board's Athletic Committee who helped lobby for the stadium.

On December 22, 1947, fire destroyed the school. The principal at the time was B. Reed Henderson and the rebuilt school would later be named after him. Onlookers to the fire witnessed catastrophic failure of the roof and flames estimated at 100 feet high. The community was stunned by the destruction of their beloved school. Parents from outside the district had paid extra money to send their students to the school, which was well known for its academic excellence. At the time of the fire, plans were already underway to build a new school on the property next to the athletic stadium. In the interim, students from the high school were placed in the adjacent junior high building until the new school was completed. The school operated on half days for junior high students and the other half for high school students.

In February 1951, the West Chester Joint High School was opened at the school's current location on Montgomery Avenue. The word "joint" was used because surrounding townships who send students here had helped pay for the construction. In 1954, a junior high occupied east side of the building, but became part of the high school after growing enrollment. In 1968, the school was renamed B. Reed Henderson High School after the longest serving principal of any high school in the district. In 1966, the surrounding areas officially became the K-12 West Chester Area School District. Rising enrollment once again outpaced building capacity and West Chester East High School was built. The building was renovated in the 1970s, adding a new library and second cafeteria. In later years, the auditorium was refurbished and bathrooms updated. In 2003, renovations and additions took place.[7]

• Blue Ribbon Award for Excellence from the U.S. Department of Education[8]

• Aquaria, drag queen[11]
• Lillian DeBaptiste, mayor of West Chester, Pennsylvania[12]
• Samuel Barber, classical composer
• Nick Bockrath, lead guitarist for Cage the Elephant
• Nick Berg, murdered hostage
• Al Bruno, gridiron football player, administrator, and coach
• Stephen Dennis (born 1987), basketball player for Bnei Herzliya of the Israeli Basketball Premier League
• Shante Evans, Professional Basketball Player of the Artego Bydgoszcz and Slovenian National Team
• Linda and Terry Jamison, the "Psychic Twins"
• Bruce Larkin, children's book author
• Peter Lu, physicist
• Jon Matlack, former Major League Baseball pitcher
• Chas McCormick (born 1995), baseball player, 2022 World Series Champion with the Houston Astros
• William M. McSwain, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
• Kyle Morton, professional soccer player for Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC[13]
• U.S. Army General David M. Rodriguez, Commander of United States Africa Command
• Bayard Rustin, civil rights activist
• Kerr Smith, actor
• Marian Washington, former Women Basketball Coach at Kansas University
• Jason Wingard, President Temple University
• Zach Zandi, professional soccer player

• Henderson Official Site