Blackford High School (Hartford City, Indiana)
Encyclopedia
Blackford High School is a public high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....

 in Hartford City
Hartford City, Indiana
Hartford City is a city in the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Blackford County. Located in the northeast central portion of the state, the small farming community experienced a 15-year “boom” beginning in the late 1880s...

, Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...

, which includes grades 9 through 12. It is part of the Blackford County School District, and is the sole public high school serving all of Blackford County
Blackford County, Indiana
Blackford County is located in the east central portion of the U.S. state of Indiana. The county is named for Judge Isaac Blackford, who was the first speaker of the Indiana General Assembly and a long-time chief justice of the Indiana Supreme Court. Created in 1838, Blackford County is divided...

. Like the county, Blackford High School is named after Isaac Blackford
Isaac Blackford
Isaac Newton Blackford was the second Chief Justice of the Indiana Supreme Court, the court's longest serving Justice, and among the longest serving jurists in the history of the United States. He wrote an eight volume work entitled Blackford's Reports recording all the early decisions of the court...

.

History

Blackford High School opened in the fall of 1969, replacing the former Hartford City High School and Montpelier High School.

Interesting facts

Blackford High School's team colors are red, white, and black. These colors were selected from the high schools that used to exist in the county. Red came from the Roll
Roll, Indiana
Roll is an unincorporated American community in Washington Township, Blackford County, Indiana. Nearly all of the community's businesses have been closed for years. Although the Blackford County Historical Society lists Roll as a ghost town, homes are still maintained in the area, and it is...

 Red Rollers. White came from the Montpelier Spartans. Black came from the Hartford City Airedales.

Blackford High School was built atop a civil defense shelter
Blast shelter
A blast shelter is a place where people can go to protect themselves from bomb blasts. It differs from a fallout shelter, in that its main purpose is to protect from shock waves and overpressure, instead of from radioactive precipitation, as a fallout shelter does...

—known by students and staff as "the tunnel." The shelter has an entrance from one of the main first-floor corridors. While the use of this shelter in case of nuclear attack is no longer a major consideration, it is still used for tornado drill
Tornado drill
A tornado drill is a method of practicing to take cover in a specified location in the event that a tornado strikes an area. Generally, a signal is given, such as a series of tones , or a voice announcement...

s. It was also formerly used as storage space, including use by the drama department for storing sets and props, resulting in the nickname "tunnel rats" being applied to members of the drama club. That use, however, has been discontinued due to fire safety
Fire safety
Fire safety refers to precautions that are taken to prevent or reduce the likelihood of a fire that may result in death, injury, or property damage, alert those in a structure to the presence of a fire in the event one occurs, better enable those threatened by a fire to survive, or to reduce the...

 concerns.

Sports

The school football team was state 2A runnerup in the 1973-1974 season, and state 2A champion in the 1974-1975 season. The 1974-1975 team, coached by Eldon Leeth, was undefeated. A second state football championship was achieved in 1979. The school baseball team twice finished second in the state championship tournament during the 1970s.

Distinguished Alumni

  • Kevin A. Ford
    Kevin A. Ford
    Kevin Anthony Ford is a retired United States Air Force Colonel and a NASA astronaut. He is married with two children. Ford has received a number of special honors and awards, some of which are the Air Force Meritorious Service Medal, Air Force Commendation Medal, Aerial Achievement Medal and the...

    , Class of 1978 -- NASA
    NASA
    The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...

    astronaut
  • Erika Wicoff, golfer


External links

  • School snapshot (demographics and performance metrics), Indiana Department of Education
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