| Chaffey Union High School is to the people of Ontario and Upland something
more than merely an educational institution. It is as well a recognition of the
community interest and the harmony of feeling existing between two neighboring
towns and it is a monument to the clear vision and noble generosity of Mr.
George Chaffey, whose name it bears.
The colony of Ontario was laid out in the year 1883 by the two brothers,
George and Andrew Chaffey, who realized the remarkable possibilities of a
situation so favored by the conditions of soil and climate, and by the
accessibility of water and of water power. To their plans for the development of
a model industrial colony they added the hope of establishing an educational
center. To further the fulfillment of this hope they founded a college that was
known as Chaffey College and provided a rich endowment by reserving the proceeds
from the sale of certain villa lots as a fund for its support.
Twenty acres of ground at the corner of Euclid avenue and Fourth street was
set aside to be used as a campus. Here the old Chaffey College building was
erected upon the site now occupied by the Chaffey library. The grounds were
beautifully laid out and richly set with trees and shrubs. The memory of the
settlement of the place and of palm and pepper trees still lingers in the hearts
of many of the older settlers of both colonies.
The presence of the college had much to do with determining the character of
the settlement of the place - it being natural that people of refinement and of
intellectual tastes should seek homes where culture and scholarship were to be
obtained. It served the needs of the community until the year 1901. In that year
the Ontario High School district was organized and it was deemed wise to devote
the structure to the service of the community as a high school building.
By the year 1909 the growing numbers of high school pupils demanded an
increase of school facilities. Accordingly a tract of five acres was purchased
by the Ontario High School district from the Chaffey trustees. Here was erected
the first of the present group of buildings, the Liberal Arts Building.
The new building furnished temporary relief from crowding, but this was a
time of rapid growth in the population of both Ontario and Upland. However, the
neighboring communities were quick to take advantage of the better facilities
so, in a year or two, it became apparent that further extensions must be made.
The moment was propitious for the realization of a dream that had long been
cherished by Mr. George Chaffey and by the farseeing in both towns-the
formation of a union district. In 1911 the matter was submitted to a vote and
the people of Ontario and Upland voted by an overwhelming majority to form a
union district. This district voted bonds to the amount of $200,000 to be used
for the erection of additional buildings.
Three new buildings were erected upon the beautiful campus which now became
the property of the union district as a gift from the Chaffey College trustees.
They were built, as the Liberal Arts had been, in the mission style of
architecture and form a harmonizing and imposing group. The largest of these is
the Science Hall, a beautiful building of spacious halls-which contains the
principal's office, several classrooms, the science laboratories, the domestic
science rooms and the large, wellequipped cafeteria. The Manual Training
building provides ample facilities for classes in drawing, in wood turning, and
in iron working. Its equipment was installed at acost of over $6000.
The Auditorium and Library building, occupying in part the ground where
originally stood the old Chaffey College building, completes the group. Here we
have an auditorium with a seating capacity of over one thousand and with a
splendid stage generously supplied with curtains, scenery, and shifting
apparatus. This auditorium has come to be one of the most important factors in
the community life. Supplying a longfelt need, it is in constant demand for
gatherings of every nature.
The Library, which occupies a part of this building, is one of the most
remarkable features of the school, a beautiful, oakfinished room, lined with
shelves that hear thousands of volumes of the world's choicest literature, it
presents a rare opportunity for the earnest student to acquire funds of
learning. Maintained as it is by a splendid endowment fund of $80,000, there is
practically no limit to the benefits that it can bring to the school and the
community.
During the past year a fifth main building has been erected-the Plunge. For
this splendid recreation building the pupils of Chaffey are indebted, in part,
to the class of 1915 and in part to the Chaffey endowment fund and to the
generosity of the taxpayers. It is a substantial building, conforming to the
mission type of architecture. The plunge is ample in size and well provided with
equipment. It is conducted not alone for the benefit of the enrolled students
but, in keeping with the policy of the school, is open to the public in the
evenings and on Saturdays and holidays.
The campus is not only beautiful with its green lawns and trees, wonderfully
collected from every quarter of the globe, but it affords other pleasures as
well to Chaffey students. Over eleven acres are set aside for tennis courts and
a field for baseball and football. Here a large part of the Chaffey boys get
daily exercise, and here have been trained some championship-winning football
and baseball teams.
The growth of the school has been rapid and steady. Within ten years the
number of teachers has increased from five or six to thirtytwo, and the annual
number of pupils from about one hundred to five hundred and forty, with an
average daily attendance of four hundred and forty. In addition to this there is
now an enrollment of one hundred and seventyfive in the night school.
A most noteworthy development planned for the future is the establishment
of a Junior College. A course is already arranged and will be opened next year,
offering to the graduate pupils of the high school the regular work of the first
two years of a college course. In a community where so large a percentage of the
high school graduates go on to college the service to be rendered by such a
course will be of inestimable value.
But the history of Chaffey High School cannot be expressed by a mere
rehearsal of the erection of buildings, the collection of books, or the increase
in numbers of teachers, pupils, or courses. More vital than any or all of these,
must be the personal element contributed by those upon whom has rested the
charge of this development. Among the many who have devoted their hearts and
their minds to the interest of the school three men stand out
preeminently.
The first of these has been frequently mentioned in this article - Mr. George
Chaffey - the friend and benefactor of the school. Mr. Chaffey has not stopped
with lavish endowments to the school; he has extended his constant personal
interest and keeps in touch at all times with the various athletic and
scholastic activities of the pupils. He is known and loved by all the pupils of
Chaffey Union High School. The second man
whose personality has exercised so potent an influence toward the welfare of the
school is Mr. Jefferson Taylor. It was in the year 1891 that Mr. Taylor became
associated with Chaffey College. When the Ontario High School was established he
became the principal of the high school and continued in that capacity until
1911. There is no tribute too high to be offered in recognition of the services
rendered by him to the school and to the community. His ability, his dignity,
his courtesy, and his kindness have left their stamp upon a generation of men
and women.The third great influence in the upbuilding of the school system is
being exercised by a man who is bringing a wonderful force to bear upon the
minds and characters of Chaffey pupils-Merton E. Hill, whose being furnishes an
interpretation of Tennyson's thought: |
