Butte Central Catholic Schools
In the early 1880s the Sisters of Mercy taught in Butte’s Catholic schools. When they departed, the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth stepped in. Although they were trained in hospital work, not education, they were determined to assume this new responsibility. They began teaching in 1887 in the basement of St. Patrick’s Church. Not long after this a school was built next to the Church, opening in 1893 and becoming the third parish with a high school, joining St. Lawrence and Sacred Heart.
In 1907, the parish priests and sisters of Butte, working with the bishop, decided to create a city-wide high school for boys and girls, eliminating the need for individual parish high schools. In 1908 the new Central Catholic High School opened in a building once owned and lived in by Marcus Daly, one of Butte’s three “Copper Kings,” on the corner of Montana and Quartz Streets.
In 1913, an addition to the structure was added to accommodate well over 400 students. Soon there were over 600 students, and the school couldn’t accept new applicants.
To increase capacity, the bishop decided to establish a separate school for the boys, to be taught by the Irish Christian Brothers. He proceeded with plans to build a new school on the corner of Idaho and Mercury Streets.
The Christian Brothers initially sent just four instructors, so only freshmen and sophomores were allowed to start at the new Boys’ Central High School in September 1924. It took four more years to accommodate all four grades.
In 1951, a new Girls’ Central High School building opened on the corner of Park and Idaho Streets. The beautiful structure was fully equipped including a full-sized gym with locker rooms and showers.
In 1967 the Butte Catholic community realized that there would soon be considerably fewer sisters to staff schools throughout the Diocese, including Butte, which had nine active parish grade schools in 1959. All the remaining Catholic grade schools in Butte were closed in 1969. That year Boys’ Central was also closed and consolidated with Girls’ Central, becoming the Central High School we know today.
The Butte Catholic School Board decided to reinstate elementary education in 1986. It marked the first time parochial education for all grades was offered in Butte since the grade schools closed in 1969. That fall there were over 100 students in grades 1-6, and nearly 500 in the junior and senior high schools. The old St. Joseph building at 1100 Delaware now hosts pre-school, kindergarten, elementary and junior high students.
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