Until the early 1920’s, Trail’s Central School housed grades 1 to 11. In 1923, the Trail Technical School was opened in the downtown area for grades 7 to 12. During the 1920’s and 1930’s Trail’s population increased significantly as the CM&S smelter expanded its production facilities. In 1938, to accommodate the increased enrolment, the Trail High School, as it was now known, was expanded with the addition of four new classrooms, a home economics lab, a library, a cafeteria, an auditorium and gymnasium. When the J.L. Crowe High School was opened in 1951, the downtown school was renamed the Trail Jr. High School with grades 7 to 9 attending. In 1960, the grade 7 classes were transferred to elementary schools in the city. With declining enrolment, the school was closed in 1983 and the students were transferred to the J.L. Crowe Secondary School. The building was subsequently renovated and now serves as a community centre and the Trail Campus of Selkirk College.
