Thomas Dale High School was named for Sir Thomas Dale, an English naval commander who served as colonial deputy-governor of the Colony of Virginia.

The school was built in 1906 and named Chester Agricultural High School. In 1917, it was renamed Chester High School. In 1942 it was given its current name of Thomas Dale High School.

In the early 1940s, a new building was constructed on the western side of the original building. This building, formerly known as Chester Middle School, stands today as the Thomas Dale Ninth Grade Campus. The 1906 structure was later demolished. In 1964, another replacement facility opened less than a mile east on State Route 10.

In the mid-1980s, the building saw a small expansion, followed in the early 1990s by some interior renovation and the addition of air conditioning.

To alleviate overcrowding, an annex known as the Thomas Dale West Campus opened in 1997 in the former Carver Middle School building on Branders Bridge Road. This facility housed the 9th grade.

Between 1999 and 2001, the 1964 building underwent a massive expansion and a complete interior and exterior renovation. Thomas Dale West Campus closed with the completion of this project. The Thomas Dale West Campus was later turned into what is now Chesterfield Community High school.

Though the 2001 expansion was projected to accommodate the school’s population for decades, the student population grew rapidly. It was decided that neighboring Chester Middle School would be shut down due to budget cuts and the overcrowding at Thomas Dale, thus the high school annexed Chester Middle. Ninth graders are currently housed at the former Chester Middle School, now known as the Thomas Dale Ninth Grade Campus, while 10th – 12th graders are at the main campus.

–Wikipedia. (2018, June 18). Thomas Dale High School.