Henderson High School is located partially in the borough of West Chester and partially in West Goshen Township in Pennsylvania.B. Reed Henderson is one of the three high schools (Henderson, East, and Rustin) in the West Chester Area School District. Henderson has recently completed a major renovation of the school's facilities.HistoryThe original school, named West Chester High School, was located at North Church and Biddle Streets in West Chester. The first graduating class was composed of five girls who graduated in 1866. The next graduation did not occur until 1869. Since that year, the school has graduated a class annually. In 1906, a new school was built adjacent to the old one on North Church Street. During this time the Garnet and White, the annual yearbook, was established and continues to this day. In 1923, the Student Council was created to help students and staff work together. With the expansion of athletics, the school needed room for sports fields. In 1923 a stadium was built on Penn Street and stands to this day. The stadium is named J. Oscar Dicks Stadium after the man on the School Board's Athletic Committee who helped lobby for the stadium.On December 22, 1947, fire destroyed the school. The principal at the time was B. Reed Henderson and the rebuilt school would later be named after him. Onlookers to the fire witnessed catastrophic failure of the roof and flames estimated at 100 feet high. The community was stunned by the destruction of their beloved school. Parents from outside the district had paid extra money to send their students to the school, which was well known for its academic excellence. At the time of the fire, plans were already underway to build a new school on the property next to the athletic stadium. In the interim, students from the high school were placed in the adjacent junior high building until the new school was completed. The school operated on half days for junior high students and the other half for high school students.
