Starting in the late 19th century it was common for the wealthy of
Harrisburg to buy rural plots of land to vacation for the summer. In 1903, congressman
Marlin Olmsted of Harrisburg purchased 69 acres as a summer farm residence named "Cedar Cliff". Following his passing, his widow remarried
Vance C. McCormick, whose family maintained Cedar Cliff until 1954 when it was sold to prominent architect William Lynch Murray of
Shipoke, Harrisburg. Cedar Cliff High school was formed from the merger of West Shore High School (Closed Lemoyne Middle School) and New Cumberland High School (New Cumberland Middle School) in 1959. West Shore's colors, navy blue and silver, would merge with New Cumberland's navy blue and gold, to make Cedar Cliff's colors, navy blue, gold, and silver. The West Shore Joint School System would become the
West Shore School District in 1966, the year that
Red Land High School opened.
Dedication Cedar Cliff High School's dedication was held on October 25, 1959. Cedar Cliff was operated by the West Shore Joint Senior High School Board. This board was a jointure of the school districts of Lemoyne, Lower Allen Township, New Cumberland, Redland, and Wormleysburg. The board presented Cedar Cliff Senior High School as the "Fulfillment of a dream for better educational opportunities for the youth of its service area." Cedar Cliff opened with administrators Supervising Principal Raymond A. Wort, assistant John A. Johnson, and assistant Louis S. Edwards along with 60 faculty members. ==Demographics==