Brigham Young High School History

BYH Historical Overview

1876 - 2006

Brigham Young High School has its origins in Lewis Hall of Brigham Young Academy with the first classes held in January of 1876. The Academy was a secondary school that grew over the decades to include all grades, then in the late 1890s began to include students at the college level.

Although the original academy was not directly sponsored by the Church, LDS community and ecclesiastical leaders provided a portion of the financial foundation for the institution for many years.

The Academy's landmark building was dedicated in 1892. In 1896, the LDS Church became the direct sponsor of the University and gave funds to support it.

In 1903, the name Brigham Young Academy was dropped, and in its place Brigham Young High School retained the secondary mission, and Brigham Young University assumed its new mission of providing higher education.

BY High continued on as the heart of the BYU College of Education. Master teachers at BY High helped generations of student teachers to start successful secondary school careers in teaching and administration, commercial, music and other careers.

BY High principals sought to recruit a student body diverse enough to challenge both teachers and student teachers. Some students were children of BYU faculty, but many others came from surrounding communities. Most students were LDS. Those not LDS promised to live by Church standards.

BY High was known for its warm heart, strong school spirit, and for special opportunities derived from its relationship with BYU.

BYU and BYH flourished, but in 1967 leaders decided to close the high school after Commencement 1968 for economic reasons. The BYA-BYH school had served continuously for 92 years.

BYU sold its alma mater on Academy Square. For decades after that the historic Academy buildings stood empty, deteriorating at an alarming rate. People who loved the Academy and BYH joined together and campaigned to save the campus. Just when failure seemed certain, with bulldozers ready to move in, they miraculously won a reprieve.

The original 1892 BY Academy building has now been beautifully renovated and serves as the flagship of the Provo City Library at Academy Square. As alumni of BYH we're deeply grateful to every person who worked so hard to make this historic achievement possible.

From 1869 to 1903
From 1903 to 1920
From 1921 to 1930
From 1931 to 1940
From 1941 to 1950
From 1951 to 1960
From 1961 to 1968