St. Rose High School

The History of St. Rose High School

St. Rose (population approximately 300) is located in far-southwestern Illinois in the northwestern portion of Clinton County.  This small community is situated at the intersection of County Roads 800E and 1800N.  According to www.mapquest.com, St. Rose is about 6 blocks from north to south and 3 blocks from east to west. The town is about 4 miles north of Breese and 25 miles east of East St. Louis.

An interesting website regarding the history of the town and its catholic heritage can be viewed at http://www.rootsweb.com/~ilclint2/misc/strose.htm. This site states that the area of St. Rose (first called Blue Mound) was first settled in 1844.  The number of families grew until it was decided by those in the area that they should establish their own church. Between 1868 and 1870 the St. Rose Catholic Church was built.

By 1881 it was decided to build a school for the children of the parish.  The school offered only grade school courses.  This changed in 1929 when a three-year high school was started.  It is difficult to determine if this high school was a catholic high school or public.  From viewing the history on the rootweb web page, we believe that St. Rose High School may have been a catholic high school.

We do not know when, our guess is the late 1940s, but at some point St. Rose High School was closed.  Children then attended either St. Dominic’s High School or Breese High School in Breese.

St. Rose is still host to a public school for grades PK – 8.  It is unknown if the classes are conducted in the building that once housed St. Rose High School.

St. Rose High School Quick Facts

Year opened:                              1929

Year closed:                                late 1940s?

Consolidated to:                          Breese Central High School

St. Rose HS team nickname:       unavailable

St. Rose HS team colors:            unavailable

School Fight Song:                      unavailable

Athletics and Extra-Curricular Activities

The St. Rose High School boys likely competed in basketball.  We would bet that baseball and track were offered too.  We do not have any concrete evidence of this however.  If you know the team colors, school fight song, coaches’ names, and team records, please pass them on to us for inclusion on this page.

Other activities such as school plays, choir, band, dances, and clubs may also have been a part of the St. Rose High School experience.  If you have this information please forward it as well.

To Contact Us With Information on St. Rose High School:

Write to us via the internet at ihsgdwebsite@comcast.net.  We can receive items via the postal service at:

Illinois HS Glory Days

6439 N. Neva St.

Chicago, Il.   60631

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