The History of Paxton High School Paxton (population 4,525) is located in east central Illinois in Ford County, about 25 miles west of the Illinois-Indiana border. The community serves as the county seat, and was founded around 1860 as Prairie City. The name later changed to Prospect City and then Paxton in honor of Sir Joseph Paxton, an Englishman who had designs of creating an English settlement in America. The plan failed, but the townspeople retained Paxton’s name as its own. In addition to the Illinois Central Railroad passing thru the center of the town, commerce also arrives via Interstate 57, US 45, and Illinois Route 9. Paxton is 25 miles north of Champaign-Urbana, and 50 miles east of Bloomington. The history of education in Paxton goes back to 1856 when the first building was erected. Education was taken seriously in the community as Augustana College moved from Chicago to Paxton in 1863. then later relocated to Rock Island in 1875 where it remains today. The first high school courses were taught in 1872, thanks in part to aid the efforts to establish and fund Rice Collegiate Institute, which added to the educational and cultural advantages of the community.
The history of high school buildings includes that the picture you see at the top of this page was opened for PHS students in 1925 and used until 1965 when a new building was erected. Stephen Larson tells us that the above Paxton High School building was designed by Urbana architect Joseph Royer. Photographs of his high schools are on file at the Champaign County Archives. When the high schoolers moved into their new facility in 1965, the old building became the home of Paxton Junior High students until 2005 when they moved into a new facility. The 1925 building remains important to the Paxton community today, still being used as Eastlawn Grade School. Paxton operated its own high school successfully for over a century until the late 1980’s when discussions began with neighboring Buckley-Loda High School for a possible consolidation. The voters in both school districts agreed to merge their schools and it became a reality in the fall of 1990, renaming itself Paxton-Buckley-Loda (PBL) High School and setting up shop in the 1965 building at Paxton. You can read more about Buckley-Loda and their separate high schools on this site.
IMPORTANT FACTS ABOUT PAXTON HIGH SCHOOL First high school classes offered: 1872 Last year of operation as Paxton HS: 1990 Merged with: Buckley-Loda Now known as: Paxton-Buckley-Loda HS School colors: Blue & Gold School nickname: Mustangs School song: “On Paxton” Words provided by Vala Harr Glick (Class of 1970) On Paxton on to victory, our standards ever high… Our loyal pledge we give to you, to do or die… We are behind you always blue and gold, raise our banners to the sky – Our faith is ever full and strong and unto you our hearts belong, dear ole’ Paxton High… Praises we sing, to you our alma mater true, courage and valor and loyalty to you…Rah, Rah (First verse was repeted, with an ending of 🙂 Cha-hee, Cha-ha, Cha Rah, Rah, Rah, Paxton High School – Rah, Rah, Rah! ATHLETICS The Mustangs were competitive in several sports, among them football, boys’ and girls’ basketball, volleyball, baseball, cross-country, track, and even wrestling. Also, Paxton had success in speech team competition, according to the IHSA website (www.ihsa.org). We believe that Paxton could have offered other activities, but there is no known information available. If you know, please contact us at the addresses listed at the bottom of this page. PHS was a member of the Wauseca Conference along with archrival Gibson City, Danville Schlarman, Watseka, Clifton Central, Hoopeston-East Lynn, Georgetown, and Prairie Central before the league folded in 1990. For more information about the Wauseca, click here on “THE GREAT CONFERENCES” for details. FOOTBALL The Mustangs were successful on the gridiron, dating back to 1909 when the earliest known team in school history went 5-2. Two other teams went unbeaten, while several others lost just one game. Paxton even made their mark in the state football playoffs, earning four trips to the postseason and placing second in the 2A finals in 1984. 1909 5-2 1910 4-3 1912 4-2-2 1928 7-0-1 (excellent record!) 1929 5-3 1934 4-3-2 1935 5-3 1938 8-1 (great record!) 1939 5-1-2 (great record!) 1940 8-0-1 (excellent record!) 1946 4-3-1 1948 5-3 1954 4-3-1 1955 4-3-1 1958 0-7-1
**From Mick Weburg regarding the football schedule above: “I thought you might like the (1958 Football Schedule), for what it’s worth. I can attest that our record that year was all losses and one tie (Farmer City).” 1959 7-1 (great record!) Coach Pat Zuchowski 1960 4-3-1 Coach Pat Zuchowski 1961 5-3 Coach Pat Zuchowski 1966 Coach Norm Henderson Asst. Coach Jerry Zimmerman 1967 7-1 (great record!) Coach Norm Henderson Asst. Coach Jerry Zimmerman
1968 5-3 Wauseca Conference Champs Coach Norm Henderson (1st Conf Champ. Since 1940) Asst Coach Jerry Zimmerman
1969 6-2 (good record!) Coach Norm Henderson Asst. Coach Jerry Zimmerman 1970 5-3 Coach Norm Henderson Asst. Coach Jerry Zimmerman 1971 5-3 Coach Norm Henderson Asst. Coach Jerry Zimmerman
1972 7-1 Wauseca Conference Champs! Coach Norm Henderson (Only loss to Pontiac HS 12-6) Asst Coach Jerry Zimmerman
1973 7-2 (good mark!) Coach Norm Henderson Asst. Coach Jerry Zimmerman 1974 7-2 (good mark!) Coach Norm Henderson Asst. Coach Jerry Zimmerman 1975 5-4 Coach Norm Henderson Asst. Coach Jerry Zimmerman 1976 5-4 Coach Norm Henderson Asst. Coach Jerry Zimmerman 1977 5-4 Coach Norm Henderson Asst. Coach Jerry Zimmerman 1978 10-1 Class 2A playoff qualifier Coach Norm Henderson Beat Princeville 15-6 in 1st Rd Asst. Coach Jerry Zimmerman Lost to Fulton 22-16 in quarterfinals Wauseca Conference Champs! **From 1972 team member Jim Dunnan: “Norm Henderson and Jerry Zimmerman served together as head coach and assistant coach for the Paxton High School football program for thirteen years, from 1966 -1978. During this time period they posted winning seasons in 12 of their 13 years coaching together and won 3 Wauseca Football Championships in 1968, 1972, and 1978. This was probably the longest successful run for two football coaches in the school’s history. Both of these fine men are deceased , but their memory lives on in the many young men who played for them during this time span. They both dedicated their lives to developing student /athletes and instilling valuable lifetime values in their players.” 1979 8-2 Class 2A playoff qualifier Coach Clint Forsyth Lost to Yorkville 20-14 in first round 1980 7-2 (good mark!) Coach Clint Forsyth 1981 7-2 (good mark!) Coach Clint Forsyth 1984 11-2 SECOND IN 2A PLAYOFFS Coach Clint Forsyth Defeated Leroy 53-14 in first round Shutout El Paso 25-0 in quarterfinals Downed Maroa-Forsyth 42-28 in semifinals Lost to Amboy 16-7 in championship game **There were 2 members of the 1984 football team who were voted by the Chicago Sun Times to the “Little” All State Team. This is a team compiled by their sports writers made up of the smaller schools in the state. These two young men were Dennis Polson & Steven Nuss.
1985 9-3 Class 2A qualifier Coach Clint Forsyth Beat Bismarck-Henning 39-8 in first round Edged Gibson City 21-14 in second round Lost to Ottawa Marquette 14-6 in OT of quarterfinals 1988 5-4 Coach Clint Forsyth 1989 5-4 Last season as PHS Coach Clint Forsyth GREAT JOB MUSTANG GRIDDERS!!!! |
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