Knoxville High School (Tennessee)
Encyclopedia
Knoxville High School was a public high school
in Knoxville, Tennessee
, that operated from 1910 to 1951, enrolling grades 10 to 12. Its building is a contributing property
in the Emory Place Historic District
, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
. The building currently is used for adult education
programs offered by Knox County Schools
.
.
The school was known for many years as a school sports powerhouse, winning a total of 13 Tennessee state championships and six Southern championships in football
, as well as national championships in 1930 and 1937.
In 1951 the Knoxville city school system closed Knoxville High School after deciding to open four new high schools: Fulton High School, West High School
, East High School
, and South High School
.
After the school was closed, the city school district used the building for administrative offices. Following consolidation of the city and county schools, Knox County Schools has used the building for adult education.
style by Knoxville architect
Albert Baumann Sr.
, who also designed the Knoxville Post Office and Federal Building
, the Andrew Johnson Hotel, and the Cherokee Country Club, as well as some of the city's early-20th-century Victorian
homes. The building was expanded in both 1914 and 1920 to accommodate increased enrollment.
The building is included in the Emory Place Historic District, which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on November 10, 1994. Knox Heritage, a local historic preservation
organization, included it on its 2010 "Fragile Fifteen" list of endangered historic properties due to concerns about its ongoing maintenance. A World War I
monument, erected in 1921, stands on the school's front lawn.
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
in Knoxville, Tennessee
Knoxville, Tennessee
Founded in 1786, Knoxville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Tennessee, U.S.A., behind Memphis and Nashville, and is the county seat of Knox County. It is the largest city in East Tennessee, and the second-largest city in the Appalachia region...
, that operated from 1910 to 1951, enrolling grades 10 to 12. Its building is a contributing property
Contributing property
In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing resource or contributing property is any building, structure, or object which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic district, listed locally or federally, significant...
in the Emory Place Historic District
Emory Place Historic District
The Emory Place Historic District is a historic district in Knoxville, Tennessee, USA, located just north of the city's downtown area. The district consists of several commercial, residential, religious, and public buildings that developed around a late nineteenth century train and trolley...
, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
. The building currently is used for adult education
Adult education
Adult education is the practice of teaching and educating adults. Adult education takes place in the workplace, through 'extension' school or 'school of continuing education' . Other learning places include folk high schools, community colleges, and lifelong learning centers...
programs offered by Knox County Schools
Knox County Schools
Knox County Schools is the school district that operates all public schools in Knox County, Tennessee.- History :Before the 1987-1988 school year, the city of Knoxville and Knox County operated separate school districts...
.
History
The Knoxville High School building, located on East Fifth Avenue in Knoxville, was completed in 1910, enrolling male and female students who had previously attended separate high schools. W. J. Barton was the school's first principal. W. E. Evans served as principal from 1917 until the school closed in 1951. Enrollment grew to just over 2,000 in the early 1920s and reached a peak of about 2,300 around the beginning of World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
The school was known for many years as a school sports powerhouse, winning a total of 13 Tennessee state championships and six Southern championships in football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
, as well as national championships in 1930 and 1937.
In 1951 the Knoxville city school system closed Knoxville High School after deciding to open four new high schools: Fulton High School, West High School
West High School (Knoxville, Tennessee)
West High School is a Professional Development school in the Knox County school district located at 3300 Sutherland Avenue in Knoxville, Tennessee 37919. The school's enrollment of about 1350 continues to grow every year with feeder schools such as Bearden Middle, Northwest Middle, and Holston...
, East High School
Austin-East High School
Austin-East High School, also known as Austin-East Performing Arts and Sciences Magnet High School, is a public high school in Knoxville, Tennessee, operated by Knox County Schools.The school includes a magnet school program in performing arts...
, and South High School
South-Doyle High School
South-Doyle High School is a high school located at 2020 Tipton Station in Knoxville, Tennessee, operated by the Knox County Schools school district....
.
After the school was closed, the city school district used the building for administrative offices. Following consolidation of the city and county schools, Knox County Schools has used the building for adult education.
Building
The original Knoxville High School building was designed in a classical revivalNeoclassical architecture
Neoclassical architecture was an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century, manifested both in its details as a reaction against the Rococo style of naturalistic ornament, and in its architectural formulas as an outgrowth of some classicizing...
style by Knoxville architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
Albert Baumann Sr.
Baumann family (architects)
The Baumann family was a family of American architects who practiced in Knoxville, Tennessee, and the surrounding region, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It included Joseph F. Baumann , his brother, Albert B. Baumann, Sr. , and Albert's son, Albert B. Baumann, Jr....
, who also designed the Knoxville Post Office and Federal Building
United States Post Office and Courthouse (Knoxville, Tennessee)
The United States Post Office and Courthouse, commonly called the Knoxville Post Office, is a federal building located at 501 Main Street in Knoxville, Tennessee, USA. Constructed in the early 1930s for use as a post office and federal courthouse, the building contains numerous Art Deco and...
, the Andrew Johnson Hotel, and the Cherokee Country Club, as well as some of the city's early-20th-century Victorian
Victorian architecture
The term Victorian architecture refers collectively to several architectural styles employed predominantly during the middle and late 19th century. The period that it indicates may slightly overlap the actual reign, 20 June 1837 – 22 January 1901, of Queen Victoria. This represents the British and...
homes. The building was expanded in both 1914 and 1920 to accommodate increased enrollment.
The building is included in the Emory Place Historic District, which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on November 10, 1994. Knox Heritage, a local historic preservation
Historic preservation
Historic preservation is an endeavor that seeks to preserve, conserve and protect buildings, objects, landscapes or other artifacts of historical significance...
organization, included it on its 2010 "Fragile Fifteen" list of endangered historic properties due to concerns about its ongoing maintenance. A World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
monument, erected in 1921, stands on the school's front lawn.
Notable alumni
Notable people who attended Knoxville High School include the following:- James AgeeJames AgeeJames Rufus Agee was an American author, journalist, poet, screenwriter and film critic. In the 1940s, he was one of the most influential film critics in the U.S...
, Pulitzer PrizePulitzer PrizeThe Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
-winning author of A Death in the FamilyA Death in the FamilyA Death in the Family is an autobiographical novel by author James Agee, set in Knoxville, Tennessee. He began writing it in 1948, but it was not quite complete when he died in 1955. It was edited and released posthumously in 1957 by editor David McDowell. Agee's widow and children were left with... - Edward Boling, president of the University of TennesseeUniversity of TennesseeThe University of Tennessee is a public land-grant university headquartered at Knoxville, Tennessee, United States...
from 1970 to 1986 - Harvey BroomeHarvey BroomeHarvey Benjamin Broome was an American lawyer, writer and conservationist. A native of Knoxville, Tennessee, Broome was a founding member of The Wilderness Society, for which he served as president from 1957 until his death in 1968, and played a key role in the establishment of the Great Smoky...
, lawyer who helped to found the Great Smoky Mountains National ParkGreat Smoky Mountains National ParkGreat Smoky Mountains National Park is a United States National Park and UNESCO World Heritage Site that straddles the ridgeline of the Great Smoky Mountains, part of the Blue Ridge Mountains, which are a division of the larger Appalachian Mountain chain. The border between Tennessee and North...
and is the namesake of the Knoxville chapter of the Sierra ClubSierra ClubThe Sierra Club is the oldest, largest, and most influential grassroots environmental organization in the United States. It was founded on May 28, 1892, in San Francisco, California, by the conservationist and preservationist John Muir, who became its first president... - Clarence BrownClarence BrownClarence Brown was an American film director.-Early life:Born in Clinton, Massachusetts, to a cotton manufacturer, Brown moved to the South when he was 11. He attended Knoxville High School and the University of Tennessee, both in Knoxville, Tennessee, graduating from the university at the age of...
, movie director - Jerome CourtlandJerome CourtlandJerome Courtland is an American actor, director and producer. He acted in films in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, and in television in the 1950s and 1960s...
, actor who starred in several Walt Disney films and shows - John CullumJohn CullumJohn Cullum is an American actor and singer. He has appeared in many stage musicals and dramas, including On the Twentieth Century and Shenandoah , winning the Tony Awards for Best Leading Actor in a Musical for each...
, actor and singer - Charles “Chili” Dean, chairman of the Tennessee Valley AuthorityTennessee Valley AuthorityThe Tennessee Valley Authority is a federally owned corporation in the United States created by congressional charter in May 1933 to provide navigation, flood control, electricity generation, fertilizer manufacturing, and economic development in the Tennessee Valley, a region particularly affected...
board from 1988 to 1990 - Norman Gaddis, United States Air ForceUnited States Air ForceThe United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
general who was a POWPrisoner of warA prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
during the Vietnam WarVietnam WarThe Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of... - Guilford GlazerGuilford GlazerGuilford Glazer is an American real estate developer and philanthropist.Glazer was born in and grew up in Knoxville, Tennessee, one of the seven children of a welder. He grew up in the Fourth and Gill neighborhood and attended Knoxville High School, graduating in 1938...
, industrialist, real estate developer, and philanthropist - Robert Monroe, United States NavyUnited States NavyThe United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
vice admiral who commanded the Atlantic fleet - Patricia NealPatricia NealPatricia Neal was an American actress of stage and screen. She was best known for her film roles as World War II widow Helen Benson in The Day the Earth Stood Still , wealthy matron Emily Eustace Failenson in Breakfast at Tiffany's , middle-aged housekeeper Alma Brown in Hud , for which she won...
, award-winning actress - Sara O’Meara, actress and founder of the organization ChildhelpChildhelpChildhelp is a national non-profit organization dedicated to helping victims of child abuse and neglect and at-risk children through advocacy, prevention, treatment and community outreach. Founded in 1959 by Sara O'Meara and Yvonne Fedderson, Childhelp is one of the largest non-profit child abuse...
- Robert Rochelle, invented the Vanguard satelliteProject VanguardProject Vanguard was a program managed by the United States Naval Research Laboratory , which intended to launch the first artificial satellite into Earth orbit using a Vanguard rocket as the launch vehicle from Cape Canaveral Missile Annex, Florida....
communications system - Kyle TestermanKyle TestermanKyle C. Testerman was mayor of Knoxville, Tennessee from 1972 to 1975, and again from 1984 to 1987. Testerman is a Republican.-First term:...
, mayor of Knoxville in the 1970s and 1980s