The History of Long Point High School
Long Point (population 247) is located in north central Illinois toward the east side of
the state. The town is located in northwest Livingston County about 8 miles south and a little west of Streator. The
main roads in and out of Long Point are County Road 31 going east and west and County Road N 200 E which travels north and
south. Illinois Route 23 is located about 2 miles east of Long Point as well. The Long Point Creek flows to the south
and east of town. As with most small towns without a main highway traveling through it, Long Point was established on the
railroad line of the At & St Railroad Company.
The area around Long Point began offering general education for its children in a log cabin located in Long
Point Township in 1843, and the earliest classes were held in the village was 1857. Nearby Reading Township had a school
as early as 1832 when the Daniel Barickman family bought 240 acres of land along the Vermillion River and set up a school
on it, making this part of Livingston County the earliest-known to have offered education, according to a 1979 book written
by former county superintendent Lucille Goodrich entitled "A Livingston County Scrapbook: 1855-1975."
High school courses were offered on a two-year only basis through the early 1920's until state law
made it easier to organize a community high school in Long Point. From the spring of 1923 thru February 1924, the
new school building was erected. The first four-year high school graduating class of Long Point High was the
class of 1923, made up to two graduates, Anna Ensign and Amee Moreland. Up until this point, LPHS students had their
choice of continuing their education and earning their diplomas from either Dana, Pontiac, or Streator High Schools.
In 1952, the folks of Long Point and Reading Township (South Streator) agreed to consolidate and form
a new school district. The new District was called Streator Woodland. Students attended Long Point High School until
the new Woodland School District building was completed in 1954. The high school students became officially part
of the Woodland School District in 1954, closing the book on Long Point High School. Most of the residents in the Long
Point District went to Woodland; however, some chose to attend nearby Minonk-Dana instead.
The Long Point High School building operated as an elementary school for some time after its closure,
at least through 1971. It was closed as a school, but was sold to the village in May 1973 and used as the home
of the Long Point Community Center for several years, and demolished in about 1980. A cornerstone from this building
is found in the town square, in front of the bandstand, which is a veterans memorial (see photos on this page).
Long Point High School Quick Facts
Year opened as 2-yr school: late
1800's
First 4-yr class/new building opened: 1924
Year closed:
1954
Consolidated to:
Woodland High School (Streator)
School nickname: the
"Tigers"
School colors: Orange
& Black
School Fight Song: "Hail
to the Long Point Team"
Submitted by DIANE CROOK (From an LPHS yearbook)
L-O-N-G P-O-I-N-T
That's the school for which we cheer,
True and loyal we will ever be, to the school we love so dear,
Fling her banners to the sky, we will not accept defeat,
Singing "Hail to the Long Point team",
Rah, Rah, Rah!!!
Cha, hee, cha, ha, cha, ha, ha, ha, Long Point High School
Rah, rah, rah!
