Destrehan High School
Destrehan High School
Main page
1064222

Destrehan High School

logo
Community Hub0 subscribers
What are your thoughts?
Be the first to start a discussion here.
Be the first to start a discussion here.
Destrehan High School

Destrehan High School is a public high school located in Destrehan, Louisiana, United States and is approximately twenty-five miles west of New Orleans. It is part of the St. Charles Parish Public School System and serves all students on the east bank of the Mississippi River from grades 9 through 12.

It serves the communities of Destrehan, Montz, New Sarpy, Norco, and St. Rose.

In 1923, the Mexican Petroleum Company donated three and one half acres of property to the St. Charles Parish School Board for the construction of a high school. On August 7, 1923, the school board president accepted the donation and St. Charles Parish approved a bond issue for school construction. Destrehan High School was dedicated on September 15, 1924, and the facility received 234 pupils in grades one through eleven. The location of the original high school was on River Road, approximately 0.3 miles downriver from the St. Charles Borromeo Church on the current site of Harry Hurst Middle School. Destrehan's first graduating class consisted of Placide Hotard and Eldridge Gervais.

Destrehan football began eleven-man team play in 1946. In 1948, ground was broken on Destrehan High Stadium as the home for the football team. The 1,200-seat stadium, completed in 1949, was located behind the original high school main building and cost $18,000 to build. The Pan-American Petroleum Company donated the land to build the stadium.

A new Destrehan High Gymnasium was constructed on the Destrehan campus in 1954.

In 1969, then all-black Mary M. Bethune High School in Norco was closed. Elementary-aged children attended schools directed by court guidelines, and high school students moved to Destrehan High School.

The process of integrating the two student bodies caused several disruptions. On October 7, 1974, students were sent home early after racially motivated fights broke out in the school. Another incident between a bus full of black students and white parents and students resulted in 13-year-old Timothy Weber, who was standing outside with his mother, being shot. Gary Tyler, a black student, was arrested and later convicted of the murder. A federal appeals court ruled Tyler did not receive a fair trial, but he was never retried and remained in prison until his release in May 2016.

The original high school located on River Road closed after the completion of the 1974 school year. The new campus located at its current location on Wildcat Lane opened on November 16, 1975. In 1977, the original high school main building was damaged by fire and was later demolished.

See all
User Avatar
No comments yet.