Maurice Leach collection on Lexington Schools, 1914-1940

Author

Finding aid prepared by Krystle Farman

Title

Maurice Leach collection on Lexington Schools

Date

1914-1940

Repository

University of Kentucky Special Collections

Arrangement

The collection is arranged by material type.

Conditions Governing Access note

The intellectual rights to the collection reside with University of Kentucky Archives.

Preferred Citation Note

2010ms027 : [identification of item], Maurice Leach collection on Lexington Schools, 1914-1940, University of Kentucky Special Collections.

Extent

0.41 Cubic feet

2 boxes

Abstract

Yearbooks, handbooks, playbills from Lexington Junior High School, Morton Junior High School, Morton High School, and Henry Clay High School.

Biography/History

The Henry Clay High school is one of the oldest public schools in Lexington, Ky. Established in 1928 on Main Street, the school took the name of statesman Henry Clay at the request of the Daughters of the American Revolution. The school, growing from roughly 200 graduates in 1929 to over 2,200 students today, was considered among the top 44 schools in the United States by 1960. The current building, located on Fontaine Road, opened its doors in 1973 in order to accommodate growing student populations, and the former on Main Street building turned into the main offices of the Fayette County Public Schools.

The Morton High School opened in 1904 as the first four-year public school in Lexington, KY. The school started as the first four-room public school in Lexington in 1834 by William Morton. Morton High School building was erected on the corner of Walnut and Short streets, and opened its doors shortly thereafter. Due to growing population, the school split into Morton High and Junior High Schools. The last class from the Walnut street location, then the junior high school, closed in 1938 in favor of a larger school to accommodate more students.

Scope and Content

The Maurice Leach collection on Lexington Schools consists of yearbooks, theater programs, and newsletters from local middle and high schools in the late 1930s and early 1940s.

The newsletters, the Hi-Times from Henry Clay High School, provide detailed information on school activities between 1938 and 1940. The theater programs, also from Henry Clay High School, comprise cast listings, production details, and a description of the play.

The collection also contains newsletters and yearbook-like books from Morton High and Morton Junior High Schools. They, too, provide detailed information on school activities between 1914 and 1938. The 1938 publishing from Morton Junior High School is the yearbook of the last class held in the building on Walnut Street.

Subjects

• Yearbooks
• Leach, Maurice
• Programs
• Public schools--Kentucky--Lexington.

Collection Inventory