Willisville High School
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Willisville High School
willisvilleschool.jpg
Willisville, Illinois

The History of Willisville High School
 
Willisville (population 694) is located in far southwestern Illinois in the southwest portion of Perry County.  The town was settled in the late 1800s and recognized as an official Illinois town in 1893. Illinois Route 4 is the main roadway to and from Willisville and is shadowed by the Illinois Central Gulf Railroad, which was instrumental in the town's early growth.  A branch of the Cox Creek flows to the west of town.  Willisville is located about 20 miles west of DuQuoin and 50 miles southeast of East St. Louis.  It is one of only two towns in the United States with the name of Willisville, the other is in Arkansas. 
 
Willisville was known as a very rough and rugged town with sort of an "old west" flair during its early growth.  It was a mining community of mostly Italian immigants.  According to a web page we found at the address:  http://www.rafert.org/willisville/wville.htm , Willisville even had a few murders and folks who were "suddenly" missing but never found.
 
The school system for the Willisville children probably started in the late 1800s to early 1900s.  Willisville High School served the town on a solo basis until the mid to late 1940s.  In either the summer of 1946 or 1947 the townspeople of Willisville and nearby Percy elected to pool their resources.  The result was the creation of the Willisville-Percy School District. The District closed shortly after its inception and joined a multi-school consolidation effort known as the Trico (Tri-county) School District.  Trico School District has an educational complex for all grades in a country setting near Campbell Hill.
 
The new consolidation effort resulted in the termination of all school functions in Willisville.  The students of Willisville attend Trico High School to this day.  The fate of the original Willisville High School building pictured above is not known at this time.  If you have this information please e-mail us at ihsgdwebsite@comcast.net .
 
Willisville High School Quick Facts
 
Year opened:                             late 1800s / early 1900s
Year consolidated with Percy:   1947
Consolidation name:                 Willisville-Percy High School
Willisville HS team nickname:   unavailable
Willisville HS team colors:         unavailable
Willisville HS Fight Song:          unavailable
Athletics
 
Willisville High School definitely competed in boys basketball as is evidenced by their success listed on the IHSA website (www.ihsa.org).  We believe baseball and track may have also been offered.  We are in need of several quick facts items such as team nickname, school colors, and school fight song.  Conference affiliation is also being sought.
 
Boys Basketball
 
The Willisville High School boys basketball program won two District titles during their existence.  Coaches names, team records, and good athletes from these and other Willisville HS teams are needed to make this page more complete. Several scores from the IHSA State Tourney involving Willisville are reprinted below as found on a site called "Illinois High School Postseason Basketball Scores."
 
1920-21 through 1930-31  Postseason scores, record, and coaches' names needed.
                                
1931-32                  Pinckneyville District Tourney              Coach's name & record needed
                               1st Rd Beat Evansville 30-11
                               2nd Rd lost to Tamaroa 30-17
                               Marissa beat DuQuoin in title game
                                 
1932-33                  Sparta District Champions                Coach's name & record needed
                               1st Rd Beat Cutler 33-31
                               Semi-Final Beat Evansville 27-16
                               Title Game Beat Marissa 35-28 
                               Carbondale Sectional Tourney
                               1st Rd lost to Herrin 51-19
                               Benton beat Metropolis in title game
                                            
1933-34  Postseason scores, record, and coach's name needed.
                          
1934-35                  Pinckneyville District Tourney              Coach's name & record needed
                                1st Rd lost to DuQuoin 48-15
                                Pinckneyville beat DuQuoin in title game
                                               
1935-36                   Murphysboro Regional Tourney          Coach's name & record needed
                  (Willisville did not compete in District this season.)
                                1st Rd Beat Chester 24-16
                                Semi-Final lost to Carbondale 35-10
                                Carterville beat Carbondale in title game.
                                          
1936-37                  Pinckneyville District Tourney              Coach's name & record needed
                               1st Rd Beat Baldwin 38-12
                               Lost in 2nd Rd, score needed
                               Sparta beat Steeleville in title game
                            
1937-38  Postseason scores, record, and coach's name needed.
1938-39  Postseason scores, record, and coach's name needed.
1939-40  Postseason scores, record, and coach's name needed.
                          
1940-41                  Campbell Hill District Tourney              Coach's name & record needed
                               1st Rd Beat Ellis Grove 51-27
                               Semi-Final lost to Percy 45-30
                               Campbell Hill beat Percy in title game
                             
1941-42  Postseason scores, record, and coach's name needed.
                                             
1942-43                  Willisville District Tourney                     Coach's name & record needed
                               1st Rd Beat Cutler 50-13
                               All other District Scores Needed
                                          
1943-44                  IHSA District Champions                   Coach's name & record needed
                               District Scores Needed
                               Pinckneyville Regional Tourney
                               1st Rd lost to Sparta 54-39 
                               Pinckneyville beat DuQuoin in title game
                                
1944-45                  Steeleville District Tourney                   Coach's name & record needed
                               1st Rd Beat Baldwin 60-25
                               Semi-Final lost to Percy 49-28
                               Steeleville beat Percy in title game
                              
1945-46                  Willisville District Runner-Up            Coach's name & record needed
                               Semi-Final Beat Steeleville 51-39
                               Title Game lost to Percy 61-50
                               
1946-47                  Steeleville District Tourney                   Coach's name & record needed
                                *1st Rd lost to Steeleville 67-34
                                Steeleville beat Coulterville in title game
*Final boys basketball game for Willisville High School. Consolidated with Percy in the summer of 1947 to form Willisville-Percy High School.
 
 
Need More Information
 
If you have ANY further information on the achievements and history of Willisville High School please write to us at ihsgdwebsite@comcast.net.  You can also write to us via real mail at:
 
Illinois HS Glory Days
6439 N. Neva St.
Chicago, Il.   60631