J. Sterling Morton High School East (often called Morton East) is a public secondary school located in Cicero, Illinois. Morton East is one of three schools in J. Sterling Morton High School District 201. Morton East is a sophomore through senior building, with future students attending the J. Sterling Morton Freshman Center for one year. Morton East's sister school, J. Sterling Morton High School West is a four-year secondary school.From 1920–59, the school operated as Morton High School, changing its name when Morton West opened.The district and its schools are named after Julius Sterling Morton because he was friends with Cicero resident and fur trader Portus Baxter Weare.In the high school district students living east of Ridgeland Avenue are zoned to Morton East; areas east of Ridgeland Avenue include Cicero and a small portion of Berwyn. There are small sections of Stickney and Forest View, but no Stickney residents live in that section.HistoryIn 1892, there were reports that the town of Cicero was beginning to work to consolidate a school district that would include the current Morton Park and Hawthorne district with one consisting of the towns of Clyde and LaVergne, for means of adding what was called a "High School Department".Though only seven miles from downtown Chicago, the school, in its early history was situated on prairie and farmland. In 1915, the Chicago Tribune reported that Professor H.V. Church, then the principal of J. S. Morton, was forced to walk his cow nine miles from Berwyn to the docks at Rush Street so that he and his family might have nourishment at their summer farm in Michigan, where they stayed the summer. The article noted that the principal was "following the example of the mayor".
