The History of Herrin St. Mary's Catholic High School
Herrin (population 11,298) is located in Williamson County in far south central Illinois. The town is
located on Illinois Route 148 about five miles north of Illinois Route 13 and five miles west of Interstate Highway 57.
Pond Creek and Hurrican Creek both make their presense known in town. The Illinois Central Gulf and Atchison, Topeka,
& Santa Fe railroads both travel through Herrin as well.
According to the town's website page of
http://www.herrinillinois.com/pages/civic_his-history.php , Herrin was established in the late 1800s and was officially incorporated in the year 1900. Herrin gained
its roots from the rich mining industry which inhabited the area in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
Herrin
is named for Isaac Herring, recognized as the first permanent settler of the area in 1816. Herring's
last name was shortened to Herrin over time. Isaac Herring's grandson, Ephraim Herring,
is credited with establishing the town of Herrin. The town was first named Herrin's Prairie in 1864 with the name
being changed to Herrin in 1896.
The following information regarding the history of Herrin Catholic High School was obtained by Joe Dewees from
Ray Serati, a 1951 eighth grade
graduate of St. Marys Catholic Grade School in Herrin , IL.
"The Herrin St. Mary's Catholic H.S. was started about 1947 as a 2/3 year high school
on the city block housing the Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic church and the
St. Marys Catholic elementary school (the school is now named Our Lady of Mount
Carmel Catholic elementary school).The school had an addition at the rear of the
building that was used for the new high school classes. The high school also
occupied some of the second floor classrooms.
At about the time of the opening of the new high school (1947-48) a new
separate gym and locker rooms was also constructed on the block housing the
school and church.
The high school had a jayvee basketball team since they were a new school
and had no upper classmen.
The high school closed in the spring of 1951 due to low enrollment. It is
speculated that the school expected to enroll high school students from the area
towns Catholic population since there were no other Catholic high schools in
this area of Southern Illinois. This did not occur.
The gym building and the school building are still used today as an
elementary school complex. The gym is one of the larger elementary school gyms
in the area since it was constructed for both elementary and high school use.
The elementary school is now named Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic elementary
school."
Herrin St. Mary's Catholic High School Quick Facts
Year opened:
1947
Year closed:
1951
Herrin Catholic HS team nickname: "Crusaders"
Herrin Catholic HS team colors: Blue & White
School Fight Song: unavailable
