Brocton High School Purple Martins

Brocton HS Building 1924-1952

Submitted by Tim Apgar

Brocton High School Building - 2008

Photo Courtesy of Gene Ogden

The History of Brocton High School

Brocton (population 322) is located in lower-eastern Illinois about 20 miles northeast of Charleston, home of Eastern Illinois University. The road leading to and from Brocton is Illinois Route 49. County Road 8 also leads to Brocton. The Norfolk & Western Railroad travels through town as does the Hog Branch of the Embarrass River. Brocton sits quietly in west-central Edgar County.

As is the case with most small schools on this site, the history of the town and its school are in need of research. We can only surmise that Brocton was established in the mid to late 1800s. A high school curriculum most likely was established by the early 1900s. We do know that Brocton High School served the town for about five decades, possibly longer. The late 1940s saw the consolidation effort in Illinois take place. This brought the neighboring towns of Brocton and Redmon together for consolidation talks. The result was the formation of the Brocton-Redmon School District. This effort was finalized for the 1952-53 school year.

Brocton HS Building History

Submitted by Tim Apgar

Brocton-Redmon High School was located, we believe, in Brocton. Brocton-Redmon HS served the area for 20 years before consolidation led to its closure in 1968. The Brocton school building was still standing in 2008.

Brocton High School Quick Facts

Year opened: late 1800s / early 1900s

Year closed: 1952

Consolidated to: Brocton-Redmon High School

Brocton HS team nickname: the "Purple Martins"

Brocton HS team colors: Purple & White (?)

School Fight Song: unavailable

Athletics

Brocton High School, like most small town schools, embraced its basketball team. Baseball and track were probably offered as well. School team nickname, team colors, school fight song, team records, and coach's names are among the many items we are searching for.

Brocton "Midgets" Basketball Team - 1933

Coach Pete Van Horn, Ray Witt, Max Turnipseed, Jacob Housely, Paul Kiley, Gene Ogden, Roy Patchett

Boys Basketball

The basketball program at Brocton High was a force to be reckoned with in their neck of the woods. A Regional title in the 1936-37 season was the hi-light of the school's athletic history. BHS followed this with a pair of Distict titles (www.ihsa.org). All three titles were won in three consecutive seasons. Great job Brocton High School boys of the late 1930s!! Team records and coach's names of these and other great BHS teams are being sought.

Coach Pete "PJ" VanHorn was said to be the leader of several great teams in the 1930s at Brocton High School. Coach VanHorn can be viewedin the picture to the right with his "midget" basketball team of 1933.

1936-37 Regional Champions Coach Pete "PJ" VanHorn

1937-38 District Champions Coach Pete "PJ" VanHorn

1938-39 District Champions Coach Pete "PJ" VanHorn

Need Your In-put

If you have any information regarding the Brocton High School athletic program and other school programs offered there, please share them with us. We are especially interested in sharing photos of the old high school building and great teams and coaches. Please share with us by completing a School Submission Form or a Guest Commentary Form. You can also reach us by the following means:

E-mail - ihsgdwebsite@comcast.net

Written - Illinois HS Glory Days

6439 N. Neva St.

Chicago, Il. 60631

Alumni of Brocton High School

The following names of Brocton High School alumni were submitted to us by our good friend Gene Ogden:

Class of 1933

Esther England

Irma Witt

Waneta Vaught

Helen St. Clair

Robert Patchet

Kathleen Hickey

Della Gillis

Bruce Calvin

Ken Gardner

Class of 1934

Thomas Kelly

Merna Elliot

Everett Duncan

Dorothy Delap

Neva Babb

Fred Wilson

Alice Weis

Charles Bailey

Robert Tucker

Robert Payne

Rosalee Miller

Mary Kearns

Thomas Heggerty

Sylva N. Hall

Naomi Geiling

Mary Fortune

Paul Cummins

Gleason Bailey

James Ashbaugh

Class of 1935

Thelma Bray

Helen Calvin

Hazel Church

Myrtle Fite

June Howe

Theda Humphry

Waneta Miller

Veda York

Weldon Snider

John Richeson

Max Turnipseed

Mary Shoot

Robert Walker

Gene Ogden

Class of 1936

James Cooley

Virginia Daugherty

Gene Foster

Martha Hall

Kerrick Helton

Georgann Luttrel

Izola Lycan

J.R. McHenry

Dora Martin

Sarah North

Jacob Housely

Roy Patchet

Hannah Roll

Louise Thornton

Charles Wendell

Pauline Williams

Mary Alexander

Barbara Marquewit

Gene Pigg