A Brief History
by Eric Krupa, St. Charles History Museum

St. Charles’s first official high school opened in 1898, with both high school and junior high school classes taking residence near 616 E. Main Street, where the post office now sits. This beautiful building was known as the Haines School, due its primary benefactor, St. Charles philanthropist Charles H. Haines. In 1914, Haines passed away leaving a trust fund specifically for community education. As the region grew, it became clear that a new building was needed to accommodate only the high school students. Plans for a new high school had been debated for some time, but were finally realized in the 1920s. The building was to be set upon a 14.5 acre campus, along with a football field, baseball field, and tennis courts. It cost a total of $260,000 with Edward Baker contributing $30,000 to the project. 

Although this was a substantial sum, the majority of money actually came from the Charles Haines Trust fund. The first classes at St. Charles Community High School were held on Monday, January 4th, 1926, though the auditorium was not yet complete, so a building dedication was held on March 12, 1926. There were three original units on campus –The Central Unit with the gym/auditorium, shower rooms, and cafeteria, the South Unit with workshops, classrooms, and a commercial department, and the North Unit with homerooms, home economics, laboratories, science lecture room, and more classrooms. The school opened the year with a lecture series featuring the likes of Carl Sandburg, and Harlem Renaissance legend, Countee Cullen! To cap off a year of success, St. Charles won the Little Seven Football Conference Championship in 1926– going the entire season without a single opponent score against them– a record that would be nearly impossible to achieve today. 

The High School played an important role for the community during the throes of the Great Depression and helped to keep kids healthy and fed. The Depression was fended off with the Charles Haines Trust Fund, but the start of World War Two saw many students enlist.  After World War Two, a number of referendums and laws expanded the footprint of the High School and consolidated all the local Schools into District 303. To honor the longtime superintendent of the school district, in 1958, St. Charles High School renamed itself George E. Thompson High School. This is where the present Thompson Middle School takes its name. The following year, the High School drew national attention for construction of a state-of-the-art science wing that year. It was featured in Time Magazine and other publications, because during the Cold War and Space Age, the United States valued intelligence and scientific advancement much more than today.

In 1977, the High School officially moved to the Norris Campus, off of Dunham Road. Due to the increase in population, the old High School became Thompson Middle School to accommodate the number of students.  From 2017-2019, Thompson Middle School underwent a series of renovations and expansions. The east wing was torn down, and the school was completely remodeled, with an addition of: 31 new classrooms, 11 science labs, new track and field (with proper drainage), new cafeteria, gym, meeting spaces, and bus drop-off/pick up site. After the expansion, the Haines and Thompson Middle Schools consolidated, changing their mascot from Titans to Thunder.  Today Thompson Middle School is Home of the Thunder.