Sioux Falls Washington High School Historical Committee

Sioux Falls Washington High School Historical Committee Concerned with Sioux Falls Washington High School from 1908-1992 Upon completion in 1908, it was renamed from Sioux Falls High School to Washington High School.

The Washington High Historical Committee is made up of former students, former administrators, and teachers from old WHS in downtown Sioux Falls, SD
Construction of Washington High School began in 1904, after Central School in Sioux Falls was outgrown. Three hundred twenty-eight high school students enrolled into the new building on February 14, 1908. The students soon outgrew the building. With a

high school population of 536 in 1911, the enrollment exceeded the maximum capacity of 500. With the addition of a new South Wing to Washington High in 1922, the enrollment grew from 959 in 1921 to 1,660 in 1930. The district approved the remodeling of the north wing in 1932, and in 1935, the center unit of Washington High School was completed, with Central School razed in 1935 to make room for the west wing's construction.[3] Following this remodeling, the exterior of Washington High School stood from 1935 until the current Washington High School was completed in 1992. After that, the original school was remodeled to become the Washington Pavilion of Arts and Science.

See if you recognize members of the WHS office staff! Unfortunately, two of these fine folks are no longer with us.
04/17/2026

See if you recognize members of the WHS office staff! Unfortunately, two of these fine folks are no longer with us.

Folks, a remider that staff obits can be found on our website at:
04/16/2026

Folks, a remider that staff obits can be found on our website at:

The April issue of Historical Happenings is now available. It features the newest member of the WHS Hall of Distinction,...
04/10/2026

The April issue of Historical Happenings is now available. It features the newest member of the WHS Hall of Distinction, cartoonist Ken Alvin. Congrats to Ken!!.

april 6 final large

The March issue of "Historical Happenings" WHSHC newsletter is now accessible on our website. whshc.org , plus the headl...
03/01/2026

The March issue of "Historical Happenings" WHSHC newsletter is now accessible on our website. whshc.org , plus the headlines from 50 and 100 years ago.

Happy New Year to All!! The January edition of WHSHC Historical Happenings is no available, as are all the past issues.
01/05/2026

Happy New Year to All!! The January edition of WHSHC Historical Happenings is no available, as are all the past issues.

Folks, sadly, another loss of a faculty alum. Dean Austad, math teacher.
12/16/2025

Folks, sadly, another loss of a faculty alum. Dean Austad, math teacher.

Dean Austad, 86, of Sioux Falls, SD, passed away on Saturday, December 13, 2025, at the Good Samaritan Society in Canton, SD. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 1030 a.m. on Friday, December 19, 2025, at St. Lambert Catholic Church in Sioux Falls. Burial will be held

11/07/2025

We welcome staff alumnus Jay Smith (math) to the WHS Historical Committee.

11/07/2025

The temporary page on the whshc.org website dealing with former staff of the new WHS has been taken down. It has not generated interested in anyone to start a staff alumni Facebool page or a website for new WHS, and it does not fit the mission of the website for old WHS. Hopefully, someone will start a new alumni page for new WHS someday.

Folks, a request came in from former students at the new WHS. They would like to see a memorial website for new WHS staf...
09/15/2025

Folks, a request came in from former students at the new WHS. They would like to see a memorial website for new WHS staff who have passed away. Since the school is relatively new, compared to the old WHS, the deceased staff numbers are low, and I don't think any page or website is just devoted solely to staff. If there is one, let me know. Present and retired new WHS staff would know of colleagues who are deceased, so if you wish, let me know, as I placed a new page on the WHSHC website for new WHS staff. This will be temporary until someone else from the new WHS creates one..

Boyd “Wayne” Bowers, son of Deloss and Lillian (Pospichal) Bowers was born July 8, 1950 in Shenandoah, Iowa. He graduated from Central High School in Sioux City with the class of 1969. In that same year, Wayne began his 26 year career with the United States Army. Wayne was selected to become a m...

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301 S Main Avenue
Sioux Falls, SD
57104

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+16056676000

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