The History of St. John the Baptist Commercial High School
St. John the Baptist High School opened in Joliet in 1904 as a co-ed commercial
parish school. The school was operated by the Sisters of St. Francis of Mary Immaculate at St. John the Baptist Parish, which
still functions today as a church.
Very little is known about the school and how long of a commercial course was taught. Due to the
opening of DeLaSalle High School, St. Francis Academy, and St. Mary's Academy, St. John the Baptist closed in the spring of 1919 due to low enrollment and competition from those three schools.
The History of St. Joseph Commercial High School
St. Joseph Commercial High School was opened in September 1914 by the Rev.
John Krajnec on Scott Street near Chicago Street on the city's east side by the Des Plaines River as a two-year commercial
high school with nine co-ed students enrolled. The school's beginning coincided with the opening of a new school building
for grade school students of the parish, which still stands today. St. Joseph first opened a grade school in 1895 and is located
in a neighborhood that was the home of many Slovenian immigrants.
The School Sisters of St. Francis Mary Immaculate were in charge of the school, which closed in
1919 due to the opening of DeLaSalle High School & the renaming of Providence High School (from St. Mary's) in order to
allow those students in the neighborhood to pursue a Catholic education at a four-year academic high school.
