Davenport Central High School

Early years

High schools had operated in various buildings and Davenport since 1861, the longest-lived of those sites being in roughly the area where Seventh and Eighth, and Iowa streets are today. An early history of Davenport and Scott County stated that the building was opened in 1875, and "grew from year to year until the building was too small to accommodate the numbers."

In 1900, a site for a future high school was secured at the old Griswold College property, roughly where 12th and Main streets are today. The school board agreed to purchase the property from the Episcopal Diocese of Iowa for $53,000, and voters agreed to move forward with the purchase. The Davenport history described the site as "an ideal one for the high school of this city. The ground covers a block in the central part of Davenport; it is beautifully situated, centrally located and readily accessible."

School board members spent time studying "the best high school structures in the Mississippi Valley," and after outlining their wishes, the architectural firm of Clausen & Burrows were hired to draw up a blueprint for the new building. The H.B. Water Construction Co. of Danville, Ill., was hired as general contractor, and construction began in 1905. The groundbreaking was described as a "great outpouring of the inhabitants of this city," with students and Bishop Morrison of the Diocese of Iowa participating. The building's facade was made of Marquette rain-drop sandstone and red tile roof, floors of terrazo mosiac and hardwood maple, and French plate-glass windows.

Construction of the four-story tall (three stories above a "tall basement"), 202×204-foot building, was completed in January 1907, with a capital cost $347,000 and capacity for 1,600 students. The new building included a gymnasium, a 1,300-seat auditorium, a manual training room, science laboratories, a library, mechanical and free-hand drawing rooms, cafeteria and administrative offices. The science laboratories were described as being "the most abundantly supplied with the most modern apparatus and other means of successful instruction."

F.L. Smart was principal when the new high school opened; George Edward Marshall was named principal in 1907, and served until his death in 1932. The gymnasium, with seating for 4,000 people, is named after Marshall.

In 1910, there were seven course of study, each 40 weeks long and "sufficient to meet the wants of all students of high school age." Academic disciplines 100 years ago covered Latin, German, science, English, commercial business, manual training (for those entering industrial and technical careers) and domestic science. One hundred years later, much different courses of study are in place.

Davenport High to Davenport Central

For more than 40 years, the new Davenport High School building served as the city's lone high school, and until the late 1950s, the school also served the secondary education needs of much of Scott County as well. Bettendorf did not have its own high school until 1951, meaning many Bettendorf students wanting to further their education chose Davenport High. The same was true for many northern Scott County students prior to 1958, the year North Scott High School opened in Eldridge.

As for Davenport, by the late 1950s, the city had grown to more than 80,000 residents, and one high school campus was no longer enough to meet the city's needs. West High School opened in 1960 to accommodate students from the fast-growing west and northwest parts of the city, plus the surrounding rural areas of which the Davenport School District encompassed. "Davenport High" then became Davenport Central, and served the central, southern and northeast areas of Davenport. The city's third high school - North - opened in a renovated junior high school building in 1985.

Many additions and renovations have been made to the original 1905 high school building.

Athletics

The school participates in the Mississippi Athletic Conference, and athletic teams are known as the Blue Devils. School colors are red and blue. The school fields athletic teams in 21 sports, including:

The school also has a cheerleading squad and a competitive dance team.

Davenport Central is classified as a 4A school (Iowa's largest 48 schools), according to the Iowa High School Athletic Association and Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union; in sports where there are fewer divisions, the Blue Devils are always in the largest class (e.g., Class 3A for wrestling, boys soccer, and Class 2A for golf, tennis and girls soccer). The school is a member of the 10-team Mississippi Athletic Conference (known to locals as the MAC), which comprises schools from the Iowa Quad Cities, along with Burlington, Clinton and Muscatine high schools.

Davenport Central's biggest rivalries are with intercity rivals West and North high schools as well as Davenport Assumption High School, the city's private school.

Successes

Throughout the school's history, Davenport Central has enjoyed great success in many of its sports, earning many MAC conference titles and producing all-state athletes that have enjoyed success at the collegiate level and in their careers.

For many years, Central − and Davenport High before that − enjoyed success in sports, including football, basketball, wrestling, track and baseball. Football teams, coached by the legendary Jesse Day, A.J. "Butch" Stolfa and Jim Fox won numerous state titles in football, including Class 4A playoff titles in 1973, 1976 and 1983. Many former Blue Devil players won all-state honors, and several went on to illustrious careers in professional football, including Roger Craig of the San Francisco 49ers. Overall, Central has won the most state championships in athletics of any high school in Iowa.

From 1941 through 1970, Central − and Davenport High before that − won seven state titles and two runner-up trophies in boys basketball. Since then, Central teams have appeared in three state tournaments, winning two state runner up trophies (in 1979 and 2008).

Many girls' programs at Central have experienced success. One example is the volleyball program, which in 1981 won the Class 2A state title under coach Cindy (Smoker) Fredrick. Fredrick later became a successful Men's volleyball coach at Washington State University and the University of Iowa.

Performing Arts

Choir

The Vocal Music Program at Davenport Central is recognized as one of the finest in the region, traveling and competing extensively. Central's two show choirs, "Blue Vibrations" (JV mixed) and "Central Singers, Inc." (varsity mixed) have received top honors at competitions throughout the country, including Second Runner-Up, Best Male Solo, and Best Instrumentalist at FAME Orlando in 2014, which earned them a performance at FAME Nationals in Chicago, IL. The department employs three full-time vocal music directors: Michael Reese, Emily Schrank, and Reid Keller.

Band

Central's award-winning Band Program is under the direction of Alexander Wilga, Kimberly Gardner, and Brian Zeglis, and consists of a Wind Ensemble, Symphonic Band, Freshman Concert Band, Jazz Band, and the Marching Blue Devils.

Orchestra

The Davenport Central Orchestras are conducted by Kendra Elledge.

Notable alumni