| City/Town: • Clanton |
| Location Class: • Educational |
| Built: • September 1940 | Abandoned: • ~1962 |
| Status: • Demolished |
| Photojournalist: • David Bulit |
Table of Contents
Old Chilton County High School
On December 22, 1913, the Commissioners Court of Chilton County, under Probate Judge Louis Henry Reynolds, appropriated $4,000 for the construction of a new high school building. That amount was to be supplemented by $4,000 to be raised by the citizens of the community where the school would be located and another $4,000 from the State of Alabama. Efforts were made by Professor James Joseph Pickens for several months to have the funds raised for the project.
On June 11, 1914, representatives for the State Board of Education announced that the new school would be located in the town of Clanton. The site of the school, 20 acres of land, was donated by Dr. Jesse Earl Gowan and Dr. Amzi Meek Gowan, and the contract was granted to J. H. Roberts & Sons. Construction of the new school building was completed by the end of 1914 at the cost of $18,000.
Destroyed by Fire, the Current Building is Built
The main building of the Chilton County High School was destroyed in a fire in November 1938. Almost immediately, county officials allocated funds for a replacement. A more modern school building was built and opened in September 1940. When a new high school was built in another part of the city in 1962, the old Chilton County High School building became Henry M. Adair Jr. High School.
When the newer Clanton Middle School was built in 2005, the old school building was subsequently demolished. All that remains of the old Chilton County High School are the columns and steps of the front entrance as a monument of sorts. The Board of Education has thought about cleaning up the lot, maybe adding a few park benches, but for the time being, the remains of the building sit alone in an empty field.
Photo Gallery
