Williamsville South High School

In 1853, the Williamsville Classical Institute was formed as a private school to provide education in Williamsville beyond the elementary level. The property on Academy Street was purchased for $700. The first catalog was published in 1857, but the Williamsville Classical Institute (which had become known as the "Academy") eventually closed in 1869. In 1874, School District No. 3 rented the building for use as an elementary school.[2]

Union Free School District No. 3 was organized on May 7, 1892.[3] The Board of Education purchased the property and building from the Institute for $250, naming it Union Free School No. 3, and added a high school program. The first Regents exams were held there in 1892 and its first graduating class consisted of five students in 1895.[2] The first principals were George E. Smith, W. M. Pierce, and D.B. Albert, who had five assistants in 1898.[3] By 1902, there were 65 high school students and 143 in the elementary program.[2]

By 1921, the original red brick building had been condemned by the State Department of Education as antiquated and unsanitary. The public voted to demolish the old building and rebuild at the same site for a cost of $122,000. The new building was opened in 1924, although the auditorium was completed in time for the graduation of the Class of 1923. A large addition was built in 1931 and the curriculum was enlarged.[2]

After the opening of the current building on Main Street in 1950, the 1920s-era Academy Street building continued in use as an elementary school for a time, and eventually also a middle school. In 1981, the Christian Central Academy rented the then-vacant Academy Street School, eventually purchasing the property from the Williamsville Central School District in 1985. In 1991, the Williamsville Historical Society declared and marked that location as an historic site.[4]

Due to rapid growth and expansion, the Williamsville Central School District was formed and a new location was needed for the middle and high school students. The current building on Main Street was constructed for an approved cost of $2.5 million,[2] and opened as Williamsville Junior and Senior High School in September 1950, serving grades 7-12. The building was re-designated as Williamsville Senior High following the opening of Mill Middle School in 1958, and finally as South High following the opening of North High School in 1968.[5]

The building was designed by acclaimed local architect Duane Lyman, who was known as the dean of Western New York architecture.[5] Its construction features classic columns and a traditional clock tower. A science wing was added to the building's east side in 1961, and a new athletics wing was added to the north side in 1992.[5] An remodeled and expanded music wing was completed in 2021.[6] The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places (as "Williamsville Junior and Senior High School") in 2008.[7][8]

Williamsville South has long been an active participant in the Advanced Placement program. In 1998, Newsweek issued its first ranking of American high schools, based on a calculation of AP exam participation in May 1996 per enrolled student, with Williamsville South ranking 63rd in the country.[9] The school's rank has fallen in subsequent years as AP participation has expanded nationwide, but its rank of 974 in Newsweek's 2010 list still places it among the top 5 percent of all U.S. public high schools.[10]

The school's football team finished with the #1 ranking in New York State in 1984, during an era prior to the establishment of a state tournament.[11] In 1994, the football team advanced to the New York State championship game (Class B), but was defeated by one point.[12]

The school's softball team has won four New York State championships, in 2000 (Class B), 2004, 2006, and 2014 (Class A).[13][14] These are Williamsville South's first-ever New York State tournament championships in any team sport to appear in the New York State Sportswriters Association records.

Soon afterward, the girls volleyball team won the state championship in 2014 (Class B),[15][16] and the girls basketball team won the state championship in 2015 (Class A).[17][18]