The school was established in 1975 with the merger of Wainwright and Southwestern high schools and is named after John T. McCutcheon, who was a political cartoonist and Tippecanoe County native.
A new educational institution emerged in 1975 as a result of the consolidation of Wainwright and Southwestern high schools, which was subsequently named after John T. McCutcheon, a prominent local artist and native of Tippecanoe County.