Bosse High School

Benjamin Bosse High School, more commonly known as just Bosse High School, has been in operation in Evansville for 101 years. Now servicing just under 800 students, Bosse High School has been a major hub of education in Evansville and is full of history. This school has changed and adapted over the years to improve facilities and accommodate for new generations of students, but its significance remains to this day as a cornerstone of Evansville education.

Named after former mayor Benjamin Bosse, Bosse High School was constructed in 1922 to serve the Lincolnshire Historical District area of Evansville. This high school is still operational and is currently the place of education for 781 students and ranks in the top 20% lowest teacher to student ratio among public schools in Indiana, showing a smaller class size and more personal learning environment. Bosse has also made it a core priority to promote diversity among students, impressively ranking in the top 5% of public Indiana schools in diversity, and making it an emphasis of their school identity. Bosse High School also is home to the standard high school sports, like football, basketball, baseball, softball, soccer, and more, carrying the mascot name of the bulldogs, and is also the host of many school clubs like a spell club, chess club, and various other student organizations.

The man whom the school was named after, Benjamin Bosse, also played a critical role, not only in this region of Evansville, but for the city as a whole. Benjamin Bosse had multiple careers throughout his life, including a successful political career, as well as a prosperous businessman. Eventually, his business endeavors resulted in his involvement of over 65 Evansville businesses, being either president or investor in these local businesses. Among other accomplishments, Benjamin Bosse was a figurehead for the development of Evansville and its infrastructure, leading the city to gain over 450 acres of parkland and the city investment and construction of a highway that runs north and south through the city. The life of Benjamin Bosse was one that earned the respect of many, reaching far beyond the Evansville city limits, as he was widely praised as one of the best and most important public servants of his time in the state. Beyond recognizing his efforts for the betterment of his community, his resilience and personality was recognized in newspapers as far as Indianapolis, publishing an editorial that outlined his life as an everyday, working citizen, that was passionate and driven enough to eventually become a successful businessman and eventual mayor of the city that gave him the opportunity to flourish, Evansville. Benjamin Bosse eventually passed away in 1922, the same year that Bosse High School was constructed and subsequently named after the former mayor.

In 1939, 17 years after the school had opened, there was a very unique problem that Bosse High School had encountered. The issue at hand was five fires that had been ignited in the school over the span of two months. These fires caused hundreds of dollars in damage at the time, now equivalent to several thousands of dollars of repairs, with the primary cost being the burning of the curtain in the school's auditorium. The culprit of these fires remained a mystery for about 2 months, and on June 2, 1939 the cartoonist Karl Kae Knecht made a drawing depicting the Bosse "pyromaniac", and the next day an article published in the Evansville Courier announced that the student who lit these fires had confessed to the police his wrongdoings. The student was 15 years old and a freshman at the high school, and when asked why he lit the fires he simply explained that he "likes excitement" and enjoyed watching the fire trucks responding to the fire. Eventually, the student was given a trial and sent to a juvenile corrections institution and the fires ceased thereafter.

Bosse High School holds a very interesting, and occasionally flammable history, but nonetheless, has served this region of Evansville for over 100 years and will continue to do so in the foreseeable future.

History & Location, Benjamin Bosse High School. Accessed November 30th, 2023. https://bosse.evscschools.com/about_us/history___location.

Cooke, Chris. Lecture to Discuss Life and Times of Benjamin Bosse, Vanderburgh County Historical Society. July 21st, 2015. Accessed November 30th, 2023. http://www.vchshistory.org/2015/07/21/lecture-to-discuss-life-and-times-of-benjamin-bosse/.

"Boy Makes Bosse Fire Confession." The Evansville Courier (Evansville) June 3rd, 1939. 94 (127), 1-1.

"Capital Paper Declares Life Was Example." The Evansville Courier (Evansville) April 5th, 1922. 1-1.

"Boy Sent to Institution in Bosse School Fire Case." The Evansville Courier (Evansville) June 13th, 1939. 94 (135), 1-1.

Benjamin Bosse High School , Public School Review. Accessed November 30th, 2023. https://www.publicschoolreview.com/benjamin-bosse-high-school-profile.