The school was built on the land that was owned by the MacDonald family and sold to city in the 1940’s. The land in the 1940’s and 1950’s was known for the Poor Farm House that was located on this property. The home was occupied by 12 poor men who worked the fields, picked up garbage, fed the pigs and horses.
The East Junior High “Open House” event for the community was held on May 5, 1963. A story published in the first “East Junior Highlights” newsletter stated “Each department of the school was open for inspection. The beauty of our school caused wide spread comments among the hundreds of visitors.”
In January 1964, the Woburn School Committee voted to rename the school, the John F. Kennedy Memorial Junior High School. When the school system adopted the middle school concept in the late 1980’s the school was then renamed the John F. Kennedy Middle School.