History

With a history spanning more than 150 years, the Colorado School for the Deaf and Blind was founded in 1874, two years before Colorado became a state. It began thanks to the persistence of Jonathan and Mary Kennedy who moved to the Colorado Territory from Kansas. They had five children, three of whom were Deaf. Jonathan Kennedy wanted a dedicated school for the Deaf for them to attend, so he went before the Territorial Assembly to present his case. Through these efforts, on Feb. 13, 1874, the Assembly passed an act to establish a school for students who were Deaf in Colorado Springs. The Territorial Assembly also established a board of trustees and appropriated $5,000 for a building. Shortly afterwards, 10 acres of land located on Kiowa Street was donated to the school by the Colorado Springs Company, owned by City of Colorado Springs founder General William Jackson Palmer.

School officially began on April 8, 1874, in a rented house in downtown Colorado Springs. There were seven students in attendance, including the Kennedy's three children.

By 1876, the first building opened on the present-day campus. The school provided free education to all students who were Deaf living in Colorado. The building also held dorms where students stayed during the school year. In 1877, the name of the school changed to make way for Blind students to be admitted and by 1883 the first students who were Blind enrolled. The name of the school changed to the Colorado School for the Deaf and the Blind in 1895.

In addition to receiving a general education, students learned trades such as printing, carpentry, sewing, broom making, barbering, piano tuning, and shoemaking.

As attendance grew, buildings were added to the campus, including a school building, girls' dorm, and industrial building (later Humphrey Hall). In 1906, the oldest remaining building, the Admin. Building was built. This was followed quickly by the addition of the industrial building (1907), the barn (1910), Jones Hall (1912), Palmer Hall (1918), The Hubert Work Gymnasium (1922), Argo Hall (1923), the Steam Plant (1926), Ritter Hall (1929), West Hall (1931), Brown Hall (1941), and the Gottlieb Building (1952). The present-day Early Education Center was built as an infirmary in 1957, and the H. Chase Stone Vocational Building was built in 1966. It was followed by the Lions Building (1968) and Adams Building (1969). An addition to the gymnasium, the Weiner-Galluzzo Multipurpose Facility, was built in 1984. The football field and track on the other side of Pikes Peak Ave. was added in 1971 and a bridge connecting to the two properties in 1975.

CSDB graduates of note:

• Paul Hubbard (1889): Credited with the invention of the football huddle
• Bambi (Marcantonio) Venetucci (1949):  Taught at the school for over 30 years and was awarded Colorado Teacher of the Year in 1984
• Mervin "Merv" Garretson: Educator, leader, and Deaf community rights advocate