Shaw High School

East Cleveland's High School

By CSU Center for Public History and Digital Humanities

Shaw Marching Band Shaw High School has an award-winning marching band that has performed across the nation and overseas. Source: Cleveland State University Library Special Collections Date: 1976

Shaw High School in East Cleveland opened in 1838 thanks to a donation made by Sarah Shaw after the death of her husband John. Since they had no children, she decided to give back to her rural community by donating some of the family's farmland for use as a school yard. Since then, Shaw High School has taken a number of physical forms, but it continues to be located on the Shaw's old farmland along upper Euclid Avenue.

Shaw Stadium — a half-mile northwest of Shaw High — was built in 1923 and served as the home of the National Football League's Cleveland Rams (the city's first professional football team) in 1938. Spectators at football games there today are sure not to miss a performance from Shaw High School's world-renowned Mighty Cardinal Marching Band. In 2008, the band made headlines after traveling to China to perform at ceremonies for the Beijing Summer Olympics.

Audio

Shaw's 19th Century Roots Sandra Brown, a Principal at Shaw High School, describes the founding of Shaw in 1838 Source: Cleveland Regional Oral History Collection

One Of The Largest Stadiums Sandra Brown of Shaw High School provides a history of Shaw Stadium Source: Cleveland Regional Oral History Collection

The "Old" Shaw Sandra Brown describes the old Shaw High School building Source: Cleveland Regional Oral History Collection

The Shaw Band Goes To China Sandra Brown discusses the Shaw High School Marching Band trip to China for a pre-Olympics celebration Source: Cleveland Regional Oral History Collection

Images

Shaw Marching Band Shaw High School has an award-winning marching band that has performed across the nation and overseas. Source: Cleveland State University Library Special Collections Date: 1976

Shaw Academy Letter Head The back caption of this photo reads: "Shaw Academy's first brick building." Image courtesy of Cleveland State Library Special Collections

Third Shaw Academy The third building to house East Cleveland High School (Shaw Academy) opened in the 1880s. Source: East Cleveland. *The Mayor's Message, and Sixth Annual Reports of East Cleveland, Ohio*. Cleveland: Imperial Press, 1901. Creator: Village of East Cleveland Date: 1901

Shaw High School exterior, 1933 Image courtesy of Cleveland State Library Special Collections

Shaw Band Members, ca. 1940s Image courtesy of Cleveland State Library Special Collections

Shaw High Radio WSRS, ca. 1950 Image courtesy of Cleveland State Library Special Collections

Shaw Academy Basketball Team, 1906 Source: Cleveland State University Library Special Collections Date: 1906

Biology Class, 1953 Image courtesy of Cleveland State Library Special Collections

Shaw on "Academic Challenge," 1977 Shaw students compete on "Academic Challenge," a TV game show featuring local high schools. The show first aired on WEWS in the 1960s. Image courtesy of Cleveland State Library Special Collections

Location

15320 Euclid Ave, East Cleveland, OH 44112

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Metadata

Citation Info

CSU Center for Public History and Digital Humanities, “Shaw High School,” Cleveland Historical, accessed April 24, 2025, https://clevelandhistorical.org/index.php/items/show/84.

Published Nov 13, 2010. Last updated Oct 1, 2023.

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Education

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