1903
2021
History of Compton High
Compton Union High School opened on September 7, 1896, in two rooms of the Compton City Grammar School building located at Wilmington near Main Street. The first graduating class consisted of two students in 1898. In 1903, CUHS moved to its original high school building on the corner of Myrrh and Acacia, and the Masonic Lodge laid the cornerstone for the new high school Administration building. The original CUHS colors were red and white; the mascot, the Lion; the school newspaper, The Lion's Roar; and the school annual was named The Red and White until 1917, when the name was changed to Spectrum.
In 1927, the Compton Community College District was established as a component of the Compton Union High School District. In the fall of 1930, the high school adopted the college colors (Maroon and Gray), the mascot (the Tartar), and the high school annual merged with the college annual, Dar-U-Gar. The Underclassmen’s mascot evolved into Baby Tartars, Tartar Babes, Babes, and the Tarbabes. In 2000, the mascot was briefly changed to Tartar-Lions; however, Tarbabes has remained the dominant mascot name. (The Underclassmen athletes were referred to as "Tarbabes" in the 1939 Dar-U-Gar yearbook for the first time.)
1896-1930
1896
Compton Union High School was established in the Compton City Grammar School building.
1903
CUHS moved to its first building on the corner of Myrrh and Acacia; the Masonic Lodge laid the cornerstone for the new building.
1925
The CUHS Administration building was completed. Enrollment grew to approximately 1,100, and faculty, about 50. The Alumni Association was active.
1927
The Compton Community College District was established as a component of the Compton Union High School.
1930
The last high school annual, Spectrum, was published.
1931-1959
1931
The high school underclassmen activities were reported in the college annual, Dar-U-Gar, and the newspaper, the Tartar Shield. The high school adopted the college colors (maroon and gray), the college mascot (the Tartar). The high school (underclassmen) activities were reported in the college newspaper, the Tartar Shield and the college’s annual (yearbook), Dar-U-Gar.
1933
The 1933 Long Beach earthquake destroyed the campus buildings.
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1935
The Administration building and other campus buildings were reconstructed.
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1953
Compton College moved to its new campus on Artesia Blvd., separating from the high school.
1954
Compton High school colors to changed to Blue and Grey; the school newspaper, The Chimes; and school yearbook, El Companile. The Alma Mater song, “All Hail to Thee” was chosen.
1960-2022
1960
School colors changed to Columbia Blue and White.
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1965
Band director Louis Thomas, Jr., joined the faculty and introduced the song, “C-Mambo,” to the school.
2006
The Compton High School Alumni Association was established.
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2010
Principal Jesse Jones established the Compton High Hall of Fame, “Greatness Grows Here”.
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2015
The voters approved a school bond issue which included the construction of a new Compton High School campus
2020
The first school building was demolished on the corner of Myrrh and Oleander.
2022
Groundbreaking for the new Compton High School campus.
What does El Companile mean?
Many students have asked, “What does El Companile mean?” It isn’t a name that the yearbook staff pulled from the clear blue sky; it is a combination of letters with a meaning for each. We must return to the eighteenth century to understand the background of this name. Our city was first settled by a family of English descent, known as the Compton family. Since our national language is English, we took the first four letters of this family’s name as the beginning of our yearbook’s name --- C O M P. El, or “the” in Spanish, gives recognition to the many Spanish-speaking people who reside in our community. The remainder of our title --- A N I L E --- was taken from the ancient word Campanile, meaning bell tower. We Tarbabes are truly proud of the “Chimes” bell tower on our campus. Therefore, “El Companile” combines the history of our old Compton, the music of the Spanish language and the people who speak it, and our respect and love for our bell tower and chimes.
~From the 1959 El Companile Yearbook
Gallery
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