Covina High History

If I were to give a one-sentence description of what I do here, it'd be "Fact-checking Covina history." Typically that involves the distant past, but recently I read a post on the Covina High Facebook page that said the school began "its 130th year" when classes opened this past week. I posted a comment suggesting the math didn't look right and someone replied with this graphic of the school's official logo. Sure enough, right there it says, "EST. 1897," and I know for certain that's incorrect. So a-fact-checking we must go!

To be precise, the stated date is two years too early. Pflueger (1964) and the old newspapers agree: Covina High opened in 1899.^1,2,3 But why stop there? Might as well cover all the other important CHS dates while I'm at it. So the following is mostly a copy/paste of my Covina Past FB post of yesterday, though this time with footnote references and discussion.

From 1891-1899, Covina students in grades 9-12 attended Citrus Union High School up Citrus Avenue at Gladstone Street in Azusa.^1,3 In 1899, the Covina School District withdrew from Citrus Union⁴ and began offering secondary-level instruction on the upper floor of its newly-expanded Grammar School at the southeast corner of Citrus and San Bernardino Road.¹

Covina Grammar School, c.1908. Courtesy California Historical Society and U.S.C. Digital Library.

Covina High School opened its classroom doors for the first time on August 28, 1899.² Twenty-five pupils attended in academic year 1899-1900,² and the first graduate of Covina High was Miss Lillian Harris, who received her diploma in June, 1900.¹

By 1902, CHS had already outgrown its space in the Grammar School,¹ so bonds were passed to construct a 3-story building of its own.⁵ Completed in December, 1902,⁶ and located on the south side of San Bernardino Rd. facing Park Avenue,⁷ the new Covina High School opened for instruction on January 5, 1903.⁶

Covina's High School from 1903-1909. Courtesy Covina Valley Historical Society.

Only six short years later, yet another expansion was needed,⁸ so in 1909,⁹ Covina High moved to its third home: an entire city block on the west side of Citrus Avenue between Puente and Dexter Streets.¹⁰ Now named Covina Union High School¹¹ and opening on September 20, 1909,⁹ it would remain the city's highest seat of learning for the next 47 academic years.

Covina Union High School, c.1930. Photo by Tucker Studios, personal collection.

Post-WWII suburban growth necessitated CHS's final move to the Hollenbeck Street campus¹² 70 years ago this Fall, where instruction began on September 17, 1956.¹³

One wonders how and when Covina High collectively forgot its true origin date. I understand from another user comment on that Covina High Facebook page posting that even in the 1990s, the school was saying it was established in 1897, and further, that "local historians" were the source of that information. It's hard for me to imagine that the late CHS history teacher and past president of the Covina Valley Historical Society, Bob Ihsen, would have gotten the date wrong, and I know the also-departed CVHS Historian and CHS alumnus Glenn Reed knew the correct year,¹⁴ as well. So it appears the mystery of the lost year and who was responsible for the historical misinformation will never be solved. However, at least now we know for certain when Covina High School actually was established: A.D. 1899.

References:

¹ Pflueger, D. H. 1964. Covina: Sunflowers, Citrus, Subdivisions. Castle Press, Pasadena, California, 372pp.
² Los Angeles Times, August 21, 1899, p.10.
³ Covina Argus-Citizen, September 26, 1952, p.43-44.
⁴ Los Angeles Times, May 14, 1899, p.48.
⁵ Covina Argus, March 15, 1902, p.1.
⁶ Covina Argus, December 20, 1902, p.2.
⁷ Sanborn Fire Insurance Map, Covina, Los Angeles County, California, December, 1906, plate 2.
⁸ Covina Argus, June 29, 1907, p.7.
⁹ Covina Argus, September 11, 1909, p.1.
¹⁰ Covina Argus, July 25, 1908, p.1.
¹¹ Covina Argus, October 5, 1907, p.10.
¹² Covina Argus-Citizen, March 31, 1955, p.1.
¹³ Covina Argus-Citizen, September 13, 1956, p.1.
¹⁴ Reed, Glenn D., et al., n.d., "Glenn Reed Remembers Vintage Covina, circa 1900," 87pp.