The History of Willisville High School
Willisville (population 694) is located in far southwestern Illinois in the southwest portion of Perry
County. The town was settled in the late 1800s and recognized as an official Illinois town in 1893. Illinois
Route 4 is the main roadway to and from Willisville and is shadowed by the Illinois Central Gulf Railroad, which was instrumental
in the town's early growth. A branch of the Cox Creek flows to the west of town. Willisville is located about
20 miles west of DuQuoin and 50 miles southeast of East St. Louis. It is one of only two towns in the United States
with the name of Willisville, the other is in Arkansas.
Willisville was known as a very rough and rugged town with sort of an "old west" flair during its early
growth. It was a mining community of mostly Italian immigants. According to a web page we found at the address:
http://www.rafert.org/willisville/wville.htm , Willisville even had a few murders and folks who were "suddenly" missing but never found.
The school system for the Willisville children probably started in the late 1800s to early 1900s.
Willisville High School served the town on a solo basis until the mid to late 1940s. In either the summer of 1946
or 1947 the townspeople of Willisville and nearby Percy elected to pool their resources. The result was the creation
of the Willisville-Percy School District. The District closed shortly after its inception and joined a multi-school consolidation effort known as the Trico (Tri-county) School District.
Trico School District has an educational complex for all grades in a country setting near Campbell Hill.
The new consolidation effort resulted in the termination of all school functions in Willisville. The
students of Willisville attend Trico High School to this day. The fate of the original Willisville High School building
pictured above is not known at this time. If you have this information please e-mail us at email@example.com.
Willisville High School Quick Facts
late 1800s / early 1900s
Year consolidated with Percy: 1946 or 1947
Willisville-Percy High School
Willisville HS team nickname: unavailable
Willisville HS team colors: unavailable
Willisville HS Fight Song: unavailable