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Historic Schools of Warren County – High Schools

HIGH SCHOOLS IN WARREN COUNTY, KENTUCKY

In 1908, the Warren County Board of Education and the Trustees of the Bowling Green schools opened a high school to educate both the city and the county's public school students. New school law mandated that one or more first class high schools be established in each county. The law allowed the board to work with other school systems to satisfy this directive. The first high school opened at the Center Street School in Bowling Green with 18 county students enrolled. African Americans attended the State Street School. By 1911, four teachers instructed 116 high school students. Forty-five were county children. Two African American students from the county were enrolled at State Street which had a total of 27 pupils.

State law allowed three classes of high schools. First-class high schools provided a four-year course of instruction, second-class a three-year course and the third-class schools a two-year. In 1913, the county opened a new high school at Smiths Grove. By the 1932-33 school year, Warren County maintained nine first-class high schools, three second-class and two third-class schools. These schools typically housed grades 1-12.

View Bowling Green and Warren County school systems worked together to form the first combined city/county high schools in Warren County which opened in 1908. White students attended the Center Street School while African Americans attended State Street School both located in the town. City superintendent T.C. Cherry reported that “the happy combination of the county and city high school interests with a view to building one great institution for the girls and boys of Warren County makes the outlook exceedingly bright and fills the hearts of both boards and superintendents with sanguine hopes concerning our educational future." (Courtesy of Library Special Collections, WKU) LargerView Bowling Green High School Larger
View State Street School opened in 1883 at State and Second Streets in Bowling Green. It began as a two-story structure until 1890 when a third floor was added to increase classroom space. Home Economics in 1924, a Gymnasium in 1929 and a Cafeteria in 1952 were all added to the campus. State Street educated both city and county African American high school students. In 1908 the first high school class was formed with three pupils graduating in 1912. City and county students attended State Street until the new High Street School opened in February 1955. (Courtesy of Library Special Collections, WKU) LargerView State Street High School Larger
View In 1913 the Warren Baptist Academy, the Smiths Grove Insitute and the Free Public School consolidated to form Smiths Grove, one of the county's early high schools. County superintendent Emery White reported in 1913 that Smiths Grove would teach 60 high school students. With 225 students in the county, “corn clubs, tomato clubs, farm mechanics, manual training, domestic economy and school fairs . . . connecting the school and home, established a higher ideal in school and home efficiency and creating greater rural activities." (Courtesy of Library Special Collections, WKU) LargerView Smiths Grove High School Larger
View In 1924 the County Board of Education built a new brick structure for the Smiths Grove School. This building burned in 1941. (Courtesy of Library Special Collections, WKU) LargerView Smiths Grove High School Larger
View The Warren County Board of Education consolidated Oakland and Smiths Grove to form North Warren. Built in 1941 on the site of the Smiths Grove school, the structure was a ten-room school with a large auditorium, a shop and cafeteria. (Courtesy of Library Special Collections, WKU) LargerView North Warren High School Larger
View Along with Rich Pond and Boyce, Woodburn was one of the first consolidated schools in Warren County. Woodburn residents raised $4,000 for this $7,500 brick school building. By 1932-33 Woodburn had become a four-year high school. The original structure burned in 1942 just three weeks after the Rich Pond school was enveloped in flames. After students from Rich Pond and Woodburn were transferred to Rockfield High School, that school was renamed South Warren. (Courtesy of Library Special Collections, WKU) LargerView Woodburn High School Larger
View Along with Rich Pond and Woodburn, Boyce was one of the first consolidated schools in Warren County. Interested citizens of the Boyce community worked to make the school possible. The first school term at Boyce opened July 1915. With the enlargement of the building in 1918, Boyce offered two years of high school work for its students. During the 1934-35 year, the school educated 34 students in its then three-year high school program. In 1936 Boyce and Greenhill consolidated with Alvaton to form a new Alvaton School. (Courtesy of Library Special Collections, WKU) LargerView Boyce High School Larger
View The nine-room Rockfield School and gymnasiuim was built in 1919. By 1932-33 Rockfield had become a four-year high school. An addition was added in 1935, a cafeteria and shop in 1942 and a cannery in 1943. Rockfield became South Warren High School after taking in high school students from Rich Pond and Woodburn which burned in 1942. (Courtesy of Library Special Collections, WKU) LargerView Rockfield High School Larger
View In 1919, the people of Riverside asked the county school board to give them a nine-month school year to add two years of high school work to the curriculum. By 1932-33 Riverside had become a three-year high school. The new two-room, 1925 Riverside School was naurally lit and had a small box stage. (Courtesy of Library Special Collections, WKU) LargerView Riverside High School Larger
View In 1926, the county built a new Oakland School. The two-story structure had five classrooms, a library, principal's office, lunch room and a basement. Oakland's gymnasium, shown at the rear of the main structure, was built in 1927. By 1932-33, Oakland offered four years of high school work. (Courtesy of Library Special Collections, WKU) LargerView Oakland High School Larger
View Along with Boyce and Woodburn, Rich Pond was one of the first consolidated schools in Warren County. The eight-room building constructed in 1915 burned in 1925. A new building was completed and opened by the following year. By 1932-33 Rich Pond had become a four-year high school. The Board of Education constructed a gymnasium for Rich Pond in 1927 and added a lunch room in 1942. After this building burned in 1942, the gymnasium was converted to classrooms for elementary students. (from Faces and Places of Warren County v. 2 by Daily News) LargerView Richpond High School Larger
View With one classroom located in the basement, Hadley High School housed four classrooms and a principal's office on the first floor. Both constructed in 1927, the designs of the Hadley and Richardsville schools were almost identical. Richardsville's eight-room school was larger. By 1932-33 Hadley offered a four-year course of study in high school work. A gymnasium with a platform stage was constructed in 1938. (Courtesy of Library Special Collections, WKU) LargerView Hadley High School Larger
View In 1927, an eight-room schoolhouse was built. It was lit primariliy with electricity but had a gas jet in the hall on the first floor. Constructed the same year, the designs of the Hadley and Richardsville schools were almost identical. By 1932-33 Richardsville offered a four-year course of study in high school work. Built in 1936, the gymnasium shown to the right had a box platform stage on the first floor. It's basement contained a brick forge, anvil, woodworking bench, electric saw, and emery wheel. (Courtesy of Library Special Collections, WKU) LargerView Richardsville High School Larger
View The school's three-story, 15 classroom addition (left), made of Alabama stone was designed by architect J.M. Ingram. Students move into the new addition on February 23, 1948. The frame schoolhouse was sold at auction and replaced with the gymnasium (right) shown in this photograph.(Courtesy of Library Special Collections, WKU) LargerView Richardsville High School Larger
View By 1932-33 Sand Hill, built in 1928, had become a three-year high school. LargerView Sand Hill High School Larger
View Built in 1929, Bristow's classrooms and principal's office were located on the first and second floors while the basement housed its auditorium and lunch room. Bristow, like most high schools, educated students in grades 1-12. (Courtesy of Library Special Collections, WKU) LargerView Bristow High School Larger
View By 1932-33 Alvaton offered a two-year course of study in high school work. In 1936 Boyce and Green Hill consolidated with Alvaton to form a new school at Alvaton. The county built this school in 1936 for students grades 1-12. In addition its first floor classrooms and principal's office, classrooms and a domestic science room were located in the basement. The domestic science room contained a number of wooden tables and cabinets, five sewing machines, one electric iron, five domestic-type kerosene fuel cooking stoves, and an electric refrigerator. A corn popper, located in the hallway, operated on kerosene.The 1940 gymnasium housed a shop in the basement which contained metal and wood working machines, a brick forge and an oxyy-acetylene torch. Alvaton also had a cannery, built in 1943, with one steam-heated kettle, two steam-heated pressure cookers and several work tables. (Courtesy of Library Special Collections, WKU) LargerView Alvaton High School Larger
View Prior to the destruction of the Rich Pond and Woodburn Schools, plans to build a high school to serve southern Warren County had been discussed. After the two schools burned in 1942, students moved to the Rockfield facility. These three schools consolidated to form South Warren High School in 1942. (Courtesy of Library Special Collections, WKU) LargerView South Warren High School Larger
View South Warren High School and Hadley High School consolidated in 1950 to form Warren County High School. South Warren brought their school's dragon mascot and school colors, purple and white, to the new high school. Aside from those pupils who attended Alvaton, Warren County educated county students who lived south of the Barren River. (Courtesy of Library Special Collections, WKU) LargerView Warren County High School Larger
View High Street High School, the city/county high school for African Americans opened in 1955 replacing the State Street School. Students from Warren and surrounding counties came to High Street to earn a high school education. With desegregation in the mid-1960s, High Street students attended Bowling Green High School and High Street became an elementary school. (Courtesy of Library Special Collections, WKU) LargerView High Street High School Larger
View In 1968 Alvaton High School consolidated with Warren County to form Warren Central High School. All students living south of the Barren River attended Warren Central. With the opening of Warren East High School the following year, two high schools served the students in the county school system. (from Warren Central High School Dragon yearbook, 1982) LargerView Warren Central High School Larger
View Warren East High School opened in 1969 with the consolidation of Richardsville, Bristow and North Warren High Schools. Warren East still serves all students living north of the Barren River in Warren County. LargerView Warren East High School Larger
View Warren County Schools broke ground for Greenwood High School in 1989. The school, south of Bowling Green, was dedicated on October 21, 1990. Warren Central served all students living south of the Barren River until Greenwood opened its doors. LargerView Greenwood High School Larger
View South Warren High School opened in August 2010. Located south of Bowling Green it became the third high school educate students in southern Warren County since Alvaton consolidated with Warren County to form Warren Central. LargerView South Warren High School Larger

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 Last Modified 7/6/21