Kewanee High School

(Grades 9-12)

1121 East 3rd St.
Kewanee, IL 61443
309-853-3328
Mr. Mike Kirkham, Principal

Office hours for the schools in the district are as follows:

    Kewanee High School:  Mr. Mike Kirkham, Principal, 1121 East 3rd St.: 7:30 am to 3:30 pm

    Unit office:  Dr. Chris Sullens, Superintendent, 210 Lyle St.: 8:00 am to 5:00 pm

Kewanee Unit District 229 (2002) has a total enrollment of 1820 students and Kewanee High School has an enrollment of 645. The gym has a seating capacity of 2,500 and the auditorium 900. Recently added through the cooperative efforts of the Kewanee Schools Foundation and Board of Education are a new 98 ft. by 78 ft. gymnasium with seating for 200, the Pines Trailer Strength Training Complex, conversion of the special education gymnasium to the dedicated Greg Moss Wrestling Gym, a total renovation of the auditorium, now known as the Petersen Auditorium, and a renovation and addition to the library, now named the Good's Learning Resources Center.  An all weather track was also recently added to the football stadium area.  Construction of the new football stadium bleacher is now underway.  The original structure was unsafe and had to be demolished.

Kewanee is located in Henry County Illinois and has a population of about 13,000. The Town was founded in 1854 and was initially called Berrian. The population had grown to about 4,000 by 1885. Labor Day is known in Kewanee as "Hog Days" and has grown into a large celebration which includes a parade, flea market, road race, Model T-race, pork barbecue and midway.

The first High School was established in 1856 and was a cooperative effort between Kewanee and Wethersfield townships, it has been noted that Horace Greely once lectured at the school which was located close to Division Street. In September of 1870, Kewanee purchased the interests held in common with Wethersfield.  this was called the Union School or Academy.  It was located on a 2 1/2 acre site on South Chestnut Street between Division and Prospect.  Kewanee purchased Wethersfield's interest in the Academy in 1870.  The academy served as the Kewanee High School until 1877. 

The high school students attended various sites between 1877 and 1905 including the Tibbett School and Central Schools.  A new high school was built in 1905 on Lyle Street between Elm Street and Burr Boulevard.

The high school served several generations of students in the years between 1905 and 1956.  The school also went through many transitions as it accommodated ever increasing enrollments.  Among these were the construction of a new gymnasium and new facilities when the old central school was razed in 1937 and replaced by the present Central Jr. High School.  The new facilities in Central Jr. High were shared by high school students.  A new Kewanee High School and Athletic Field with a stadium were built in 1938 at the present site on Third Street.

In 1954, construction of the present Kewanee High school was authorized and first occupied by students in 1957. 

The need for an improved all weather track and other improvements to the Kewanee High School Athletic Field led to the creation of the Kewanee Schools Foundation in 1990.  A major capital campaign raised $165,000 for the needed improvements.  Major gifts from the Breedlove and Petersen families resulted in the renaming of the field to Breedlove/Petersen Field.

In 2000, the Foundation again responded to the district's need for new and improved facilities by conducting a capital campaign entitled "Building for the Future".  The campaign raised $1,500,000 for the construction of Good's Gymnasium, Petersen Auditorium, Moss Wrestling Center, Pines Strength Training Center and other major improvements.  These facilities were dedicated in October, 2001.

"Endowing Our Future" was the name given to a capital fund campaign that began in 2002.  This campaign raised nearly $500,000 to assist the Foundation Endowment Fund, assist the elementary schools, and expand and renovate the obsolete Kewanee High School Library and create the Good's Learning Resources Center, a state of the art, computer assisted teaching, learning, research center.  This facility will be dedicated in Fall, 2006.