It is the oldest public school in Pennsylvania being built in 1909, the older of the two buildings that makes up Coughlin is over 100 years old.

With the construction of a second high school in Wilkes-Barre in 1925, the building was dedicated as James M. Coughlin High School in memory of Superintendent James Martin Coughlin, who served in that capacity from 1890 to 1918.

[clarification needed] It was then later decided to include G.A.R Junior/Senior High School in the closure and consolidation plan.

[3] However, the Board was unable to move forward with the plan to use the Coughlin site.

[4][5][6][7][8][9] On March 5, 2018, the Board voted to purchase land in Plains, Pennsylvania for the merged high school.