It opened in 1946 as High School of American Samoa, making it the first such school in the territory.[1] It was established through the efforts of Mr. and Mrs. Matsinger from Kamehameha Schools in Hawai'i. Success was immediate and twenty graduates went on to colleges on the mainland or Hawai'i after the first two years. New buildings for the school were dedicated on May 20, 1949.[3]
In a 1975 hearing in the U.S. Congress the school was referred to as the "Downtown" high school of American Samoa. Around that period the enrollment was expected to increase to 800–1,000.[4]
^Sunia, Fofo I.F. (2009). A History of American Samoa. Amerika Samoa Humanities Council. Page 247. ISBN9781573062992.
^Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations for 1975: Hearings Before a Subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations, House of Representatives, Ninety-third Congress, Second Session, Deel 1. U.S. Government Printing Office, 1974. p. 748.
^Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations for Fiscal Year 1982: Hearings Before a Subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations, United States Senate, Ninety-seventh Congress, First Session, on H.R. 4035, United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Appropriations. Subcommittee on the Dept. of the Interior and Related Agencies. U.S. Government Printing Office, 1992. p. 350. "Samoana High School which was destroyed by fire in 1979."