History

Due to the high school’s expanding enrollment, the decision was made to relocate the facility to a separate campus. In September 1961, a 31.5-acre plot of land on Walnut Grove Road was purchased. Fundraising for construction of the new school began in earnest. In 1965, CBHS began to operate under a separate charter from the college.

Even though CBHS did not open its doors on Walnut Grove Road until 1965, it had already made history. Christian Brothers College had been quietly and peacefully integrated in 1960 when Ernest Donohue transferred from LeMoyne-Owen College. No secondary school in Memphis, public or private, however, had been integrated prior to 1963. In August of that year, Brother President Terence McLaughlin accepted the application of Jesse Turner Jr. and made CBHS the first integrated high school in the city. Turner graduated as co-salutatorian of the Class of 1967.
 
In the half-century since the move to Walnut Grove, Memphis has grown around the school, with neighborhoods, roads, and businesses replacing cotton fields.

CBHS continues to grow, especially in technology and curriculum development. In 2011, it installed campus-wide, state-of-the-art wireless network infrastructure, enabling internet connectivity from the baseball bleachers on the east end to the STEMM labs on the west end. A 1:1 computing program was added in 2012. Two years later, the school announced a transformative capital campaign and opened the new McEniry Hall to house its STEMM CoLab program, added a full-service lunch program, and opened a new athletic facility.

The 31.5-acre campus now boasts expanded classroom and athletic facilities, including the Brother Adrian and the Lavecchia Academic Wings, Tom Nix Stadium, Giacosa Baseball Complex, McEniry Hall, Brothers Development Center, and the Marr Business School. Renovated locker rooms, McCourtney Hall counseling offices, and Stephen Hall renovations were completed in November 2018. Since then, CBHS has added the incredible McNeill Family Fieldhouse that was welcomed to the campus with a state championship in 2022.