In 1898, a new high school was built at the cost of $65,000 by Van Ryn and DeGelleke of Milwaukee, on the corner of Seventh and Eighth Streets.

In the early years, Wausau East housed two sections for seventh and eighth graders, kindergarten, and the Marathon County Normal School.

It was once said that students and teachers were proud of its angled floors, which gave them a good view of all activities on the stage.

During the Great Depression, with the help of the Works Progress Administration, the city expanded the 1898 building with a new three-story Victorian style addition facing Seventh and Hamilton Streets.

The first phase of construction began in 1934 and included an addition that featured hand-crafted wall tiles, a large mural depicting lumberjacks cutting trees displayed in the main entrance, and Art Moderne architectural motifs.

However, due to a lack of funds, the plan to demolish the 1898 structure and replace it with an identical extension of the 1936 phase was never put into action.

In 1979, under the principalship of John Crubaugh, the original 1898 building was demolished by Williams Wrecking of Wausau at a cost of $53,000 because officials thought that it was an unsafe structure.

During this time, Wausau East High School also went through extensive renovation, including lowering of the ceilings and dividing the old library into three discussion rooms and classrooms (primarily English Language Learner rooms).

In 1999, the voters of Wausau passed a referendum to construct a new high school, to be located on 18th Street, a site that had been proposed in the 1970s.

The former high school, owned by Stone House Development of Madison, Wisconsin, has been renovated into apartments for middle and lower income families.

In 2009 Wausau East High School received a grant from the Walter Alexander Foundation to support the education of renewable energy.

The Wausau East boys' curling team won two consecutive state titles (2006 and 2007).

The Wausau East girls' cross country teams won two consecutive WIAA Division 1 state titles (2009 and 2010).