School History

Edinburgh had an early start in public education. Blue River Township was the first township in Johnson County to have a public school. The site of the first public school in Edinburgh was 500 East Main Cross. The land was donated in 1838 by George C. Cutsinger for the express purpose of a school building. Prior to this, school had been held in an old church building on South Walnut Street.

The school on East Main Cross burned in 1867 and the first school built on the hill just north of the present high school was completed in 1869. This two-story brick building was used until 1911.

A new building was completed on the same site in 1912 to house grades one through twelve. This school included a gymnasium, an industrial arts room, and a home economics room on the basement level. In 1924, a new junior/senior high school was built immediately to the north. This building included a new gymnasium and an auditorium.

Camp Atterbury opened during World War II bringing an influx of new students. The two buildings were connected by a bridge that contained several additional classrooms to accommodate these students. A separate annex was built just north of these buildings in 1953, when Camp Atterbury reopened during the Korean Conflict. In 1957, the current gymnasium and the vocational education wing were built.

In 1962, the Edinburgh School System was consolidated to include all Blue River Township students. These students were already attending Edinburgh schools, with tuition paid by the township trustee's office.

Eastside Elementary School was built in 1966 for grades one through five. The current academic wing of the junior/senior high school was completed in 1971 and included grades eight through twelve. The building on the hill became a middle school for grades five through seven. An addition to Eastside Elementary school was completed in 1978, at which time grades five and six moved to Eastside and grade seven moved to the present Edinburgh Junior/Senior High School building. The school on the hill became a community center and was torn down in 1980. The new administration building was built at that time.

During the summer of 1994, remodeling was completed on the present building. In 1994- 95, students were separated into a middle school for grades seven and eight and a high school for grades nine through twelve.

In 2004 the vocational wing was renovated to prepare the addition of sixth (6th) graders from Eastside. Also, the Amos Conover Annex was built to provide additional facilities for physical education and extra-curricular activities.
Recent renovations include: Updating of locker room area, band and choir rooms, and office entrance. The Lancers Sports Facility was erected during the 2014-15 school year.

ECHS has an enrollment of 242 students with 14 core teachers, 5 shared special area teachers, and a guidance counselor. Within this small school environment, students get much personal attention. They also get a comprehensive educational experience with access to Advanced Placement classes, on line course opportunities, dual enrollment courses with nearby colleges and universities, and a partnership with area schools in the state-of-the-art C4 Vocational Career Center.