Vashon High School Reviews
3035 Cass Ave
St. Louis, MO 63106-1533
(314) 533-9487
Vashon High School is a public high school located in St. Louis, Missouri that is part of the St. Louis Public Schools. When it opened in 1927, it was the second high school for black students in St. Louis. Since 1934, the school has won 14 state basketball championships – eight as a member of the Missouri State High School Activities Association and six as a member of the Missouri Negro Interscholastic Athletic Association.HistoryDesigned by Rockwell M. Milligan, the school opened on September 11, 1927, and it was named in honor of two African-American educators: George Boyer Vashon, the first black graduate of Oberlin College, and his son, John Boyer Vashon. Located at 3026 Laclede Avenue, construction costs were slightly less than $1.2 million. Vashon was the second high school built for black students in the St. Louis Public Schools, after Sumner High School.While at the Laclede Avenue location, Vashon's boys basketball program won six state titles as part of the Missouri Negro Interscholastic Athletic Association, in 1935, 1936, 1944, 1947, 1948, and 1949. Vashon was barred from joining the Missouri State High School Activities Association until 1949, and between 1949 and 1954, it was prohibited from participating in both MNIAA tournaments and MSHSAA state tournaments.In June 1963, the school relocated to the Hadley Vocational-Technical High School building at 3405 Bell Avenue, and the original building became part of Harris–Stowe State University. The Bell Avenue building had been constructed in the early 1930s with large shop classrooms that were subsequently divided into classrooms and offices with partition walls, causing noise problems throughout the school. Its architectural design also strongly resembled a factory, and according to a local newspaper report, "the main school building, gym and auditorium make one think the people inside might be manufacturing cars or widgets." The move was accompanied by protests in the local community and a student march against the transfer.