Grand Forks Central High School


Grand Forks Central High School is a public senior high school in the Grand Forks Public Schools district. It is located in downtown Grand Forks, North Dakota.
Dependent children living on Grand Forks Air Force Base are zoned to Grand Forks Central.
WWW gfc.gfschools.org

History

GFC was originally built in 1882 at a cost of $26,000.
Its first graduating class graduated in 1886, and consisted of three women, including Emma Oldham and Mary Parsons.
The original building underwent major renovation in 1911, and construction was completed on the current main building in 1917. The original structure was demolished in 1937 to build the auditorium, as part of The New Deal's Public Works Administration program. In 1985, construction began on a new media center, cafeteria, updated classrooms, and. The most recent addition was a fine arts wing, a new home for the department, which for the first time included a back stage and a proper set storage area, as well as a black box theater.
Grand Forks Central is the oldest still-operating in North Dakota.

Sports offered

  • Basketball
  • Baseball
  • Cheerleading
  • Cross-country
  • Football
  • Hockey
  • Hockey *
  • Soccer
  • Softball
  • Swimming & Diving *
  • Golf
  • Tennis
  • Track and Field
  • Volleyball
  • Wrestling
  • Figure skating
  • Gymnastics was cancelled for the 2025 season and no longer remains active
  • RRHS and Central High School have combined teams in several sporting areas, due to low participation numbers. Co-op sports have been adopted the mascot of the "Knightriders".

Championships

  • State Class 'A' boys' basketball: 1927, 1946, 1947, 1952, 1956, 1970, 1974, 1996
  • State Class 'A' boys' track and field: 1903, 1904, 1906, 1908 co-champions, 1911, 1913, 1914 co-champions, 1915, 1916, 1922 co-champions, 1926, 1927, 1940, 1955, 1956, 1961, 1963, 1964, 1966
  • State Class 'A' girls' track and field: 1986, 1987
  • State Class 'A' football: 1906, 1913, 1915, 1916, 1931, 1934, 1938, 1946, 1963
  • State Class 'AAA' football: 2005
  • State boys' hockey: 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1983, 1984, 1993, 1995, 2003, 2004, 2010, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2025
  • State Class 'A' baseball: 2000, 2006
  • State girls' soccer: 1997
  • State Class 'A' cross country: 1998
  • State Class 'A' speech: 1981, 1982, 1984
  • State Girls Gymnastics: 2004, 2005, 2006

Notable alumni