Chatham Borough High School

Chatham Borough High School was a public high school that existed until 1988 in Chatham Borough, in Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The school became defunct when the Borough and Chatham Township merged their independent school systems to create the School District of the Chathams. The current Chatham High School shared by both municipalities occupies the building that had been used by Chatham Township High School.

History

The borough's board of education informed the Chatham Township in 1953 district that the high school would not be able to accommodate township students after the 1959-60 school year, leading the township's board of education to consider establishing a regional district or constructing its own high school.^[1] Voters in Chatham Township approved the building of a high school in September 1960, with a referendum to spend $1,750,000 in a bond offering passing by a 4-1 margin and completion expected in time for the 1962-63 school year.^[2] Chatham Township High School opened to students in September 1962 for grades seven through nine, with students still in Chatham Borough High School completing their education there.^[3]^[4]

The graduating class of 1911, the school's first, included six students.^[5] The class of 1988, with a total of 105 seniors, was the 76th and final graduating class of the borough's high school.^[6]

The Chatham Borough High School building was repurposed as the Chatham Borough Hall.^[5]

Athletics

The school's sports teams were known as the Eskies.^[7]

The ice hockey team won the Gordon Cup in 1962, 1967 and 1968.^[8]

The baseball team won the North II Group I state sectional final in 1970 and won the Group I state title in 1979, defeating Burlington Township High School in the finals of the tournament.^[9]

Notable alumni

Ben Bailey (born 1970, class of 1988), host of Cash Cab.^[6]

References

^ "Township Board to Discuss Regional High", The Chatham Press, November 6, 1953. Accessed January 27, 2022, via Newspapers.com. "The Chatham Township Board of Education will meet with the Boards of Passaic Township and New Providence to determine if a proposal to build a regional high school should be submitted to the voters, it was decided last night at a meeting of the local Board of Education with representatives of various Township organizations and former Board members. At the meeting it was revealed that by 1960 'there is little, if any, possibility that Township students will be accepted' in Chatham Borough High School, where they are now sent; and by then the Township Board will either have to participate in a regional program or build a high school of its own"
^ Staff. "Jersey High School Approved", The New York Times, September 29, 1960. Accessed January 27, 2022.
^ Staff. "Athletic Schedule Given to Board", The Madison Eagle, July 5, 1962. Accessed January 27, 2022. "Benjamin Diest, principal of Chatham Township High School, presented a full schedule of athletic events for the school which opens in September for grades seven, eight and nine, at last week's meeting of the board of education."
^ Staff. "High School Dedication Dec. 16", The Chatham Press, December 16, 1962. Accessed January 27, 2022.
^ ^a ^b Walsh, Jeremy. "Chatham High School celebrates past, present with centennial and graduation celebration", The Star-Ledger, June 26, 2011, updated March 31, 2019. Accessed January 27, 2022. "The year 1911 was a time of auspicious beginnings.... And in the Chathams, six teens, their youth preserved today in a faded photograph, became the first class to graduate from the newly accredited Chatham High School.... The school building, then only six months old, is now Chatham Borough Hall."
^ ^a ^b "Chatham Borough has final graduation", Daily Record, June 30, 1988. Accessed January 27, 2022, via Newspapers.com. "The borough's 76th class was the last to graduate Chatham High School. The commencement ceremonies, held at 6:30 p.m. Friday on the school's front lawn, featured 105 graduating seniors. As of July 1, the borough's and Chatham Township's school districts will merge, and the Chatham Township High School building will become the regional school.... Members of the graduating Class of 1988 are:Denise Marie Adams, Daniel Ralph Agostinelli, David Michael Allan, Troy T. Atterberry, Benjamin Ray Bailey..."
^ Barmakian, Ed. "Chatham High Graduates Make it a "Great Reunion" by Marching in 4th of July Parade; Eskies Mascot Makes Return Appearance", TAP into Chatham, July 4, 2019. Accessed January 27, 2022. "Chatham Borough was known as the Eskies and the Chatham Township as the Gladiators before the two joined as one high school and became the Cougars starting in the 1988-'89 school year."
^ NJSIAA Ice Hockey State Championship History, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed January 27, 2022.
^ Baseball Championship History: 1959–2024, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, updated June 2024. Accessed September 1, 2024.

40°44′19″N 74°23′06″W / 40.7384937°N 74.3848866°W / 40.7384937; -74.3848866

[1] "Township Board to Discuss Regional High", The Chatham Press, November 6, 1953. Accessed January 27, 2022, via Newspapers.com. "The Chatham Township Board of Education will meet with the Boards of Passaic Township and New Providence to determine if a proposal to build a regional high school should be submitted to the voters, it was decided last night at a meeting of the local Board of Education with representatives of various Township organizations and former Board members. At the meeting it was revealed that by 1960 'there is little, if any, possibility that Township students will be accepted' in Chatham Borough High School, where they are now sent; and by then the Township Board will either have to participate in a regional program or build a high school of its own"

[2] Staff. "Jersey High School Approved", The New York Times, September 29, 1960. Accessed January 27, 2022.

[3] Staff. "Athletic Schedule Given to Board", The Madison Eagle, July 5, 1962. Accessed January 27, 2022. "Benjamin Diest, principal of Chatham Township High School, presented a full schedule of athletic events for the school which opens in September for grades seven, eight and nine, at last week's meeting of the board of education."

[4] Staff. "High School Dedication Dec. 16", The Chatham Press, December 16, 1962. Accessed January 27, 2022.

[SL2011-5] Walsh, Jeremy. "Chatham High School celebrates past, present with centennial and graduation celebration", The Star-Ledger, June 26, 2011, updated March 31, 2019. Accessed January 27, 2022. "The year 1911 was a time of auspicious beginnings.... And in the Chathams, six teens, their youth preserved today in a faded photograph, became the first class to graduate from the newly accredited Chatham High School.... The school building, then only six months old, is now Chatham Borough Hall."

[Bailey-6] "Chatham Borough has final graduation", Daily Record, June 30, 1988. Accessed January 27, 2022, via Newspapers.com. "The borough's 76th class was the last to graduate Chatham High School. The commencement ceremonies, held at 6:30 p.m. Friday on the school's front lawn, featured 105 graduating seniors. As of July 1, the borough's and Chatham Township's school districts will merge, and the Chatham Township High School building will become the regional school.... Members of the graduating Class of 1988 are:Denise Marie Adams, Daniel Ralph Agostinelli, David Michael Allan, Troy T. Atterberry, Benjamin Ray Bailey..."

[7] Barmakian, Ed. "Chatham High Graduates Make it a "Great Reunion" by Marching in 4th of July Parade; Eskies Mascot Makes Return Appearance", TAP into Chatham, July 4, 2019. Accessed January 27, 2022. "Chatham Borough was known as the Eskies and the Chatham Township as the Gladiators before the two joined as one high school and became the Cougars starting in the 1988-'89 school year."

[8] NJSIAA Ice Hockey State Championship History, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed January 27, 2022.

[NJSIAABaseball-9] Baseball Championship History: 1959–2024, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, updated June 2024. Accessed September 1, 2024.

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