Wellston High School (Welhisco Yearbook)
Raising the Community: The Wellston School District
The Wellston School District was established in 1894. Prominent in the development of Wellston schools were two men: The Reverend Dr. Irl R. Hicks and Ernest Forrest Bush.
Hicks, a scientist and astronomer, built a home at Kienlen and Lotus in 1890. He was well known for his weather predictions, and from his observation tower, he predicted the cyclone of 1896. He had much influence in the development of the schools in the district and later served a short time as mayor of Wellston.
Parent and children on the School Picnic Day Parade, en route to The Highlands (collection of Bonnie Burrows)
Bush, who was educated at the Missouri State Normal School at Kirksville, was elected superintendent of the Wellston School District of St. Louis County in 1904. He organized the Wellston Senior High in 1906 and began the Wellston Junior High School in 1923. He served for over 25 years.
Grammar schools included Northward (later known as Wellsmar) on Wellsmar Avenue, Central on Ella Avenue, and Southward on Bartmer Avenue.
Since the 1970s, the Wellston School District struggled to provide education for the community’s
children. In 2010, the Wellston School District and the Normandy School District merged. The last graduating class at Eskridge (formerly Wellston) High School completed its studies in 2010.