Cary High School

Cary High School is one of six public high schools in Cary, North Carolina, and is part of the Wake County Public School System. In 1907, Cary High School became the first state-funded public high school in North Carolina.Byrd, Thomas M. and Coston, Lisa. Chronology of Cary High School 1896-1996. March 1996. p. 4. Retrieved July 2, 2020. It was selected as a Blue Ribbon School in 2002.

History

Original campus

Cary High School opened in 1896 as a private boarding school.Byrd, Thomas M. and Coston, Lisa. Chronology of Cary High School 1896-1996. March 1996. p. 1-2. Retrieved July 2, 2020. It was established to provide "a higher course of instruction" than could be found in the local one-room schools of the area. It was located in the old Cary Academy at the head of Academy Street. Its first class graduated in May 1897. The school's first principal was Edwin Lee Middleton.

In 1907, the North Carolina legislature approved a state-wide public education system.Byrd, Thomas M. and Coston, Lisa. Chronology of Cary High School 1896-1996. March 1996. p. 3. Retrieved July 2, 2020. Eight days later on April 3, 1907, the board of directors of Cary High School sold it to the Wake County Board of Education for $2,750—its estimated value at the time was more than $8,000. Half of the purchase price was paid for by the State under the new legislation. Thus, Cary High School is the first county high school in North Carolina, the first state-funded high school in North Carolina, and the first high school in the state system. The school was managed by the Cary School Committee under the leadership of C. W. Scott, chair.

The State Legislature approved the establishment of a Cary School District and authorized a school tax for residents of the area. The Cary School Committee could charge up to 30¢ in school taxes for every $100 of real estate owned in the district. The citizens approved the tax in a referendum held on May 7, 1907. The outcome of the referendum was 100 in favor of the school tax and two against it. Those who lived outside the Cary School District could attend the high school for $14 a term for freshmen and sophomores and $16 a term for juniors and seniors.

Middleton remained as the school's principal during the transition, retiring in 1908. His replacement was superintendent Marcus Baxter Dry. The curriculum consisted of one year of French, three years of science, and four years of English, history, Latin, and mathematics.Byrd, Thomas M. and Coston, Lisa. Cchronology of Cary High School 1896-1996. March 1996. p. 5. Retrieved July 2, 2020. The latter included arithmetic, algebra, and geometry. Domestic science was added for female students in 1910. Students could add art, elocution, music, or piano to their studies for an added fee.

In the fall of 1912, 119 students enrolled in the high school. This number included eighty boarding students from other counties. The curriculum expanded to include agriculture, botany, and chemistry as science options. That year, the Girls Athletic Club was formed so that female students could play tennis and basketball.

By 1913, the student body had outgrown the campus. Dry asked the citizens of the school district to increase the school tax so that the school could have a new building with a modern heating system.Byrd, Thomas M. and Coston, Lisa. Chronology of Cary High School 1896-1996. March 1996. p. 6. Retrieved July 2, 2020. In May 1913, the voters approved $25,000 in bonds for a new 33-room brick building to be placed on the site of the original wood frame building. The State contributed an additional $5,000 to construct what was considered "the best high school building in the state". Dry recalled, "It can truly be said that this building led the way for better high school buildings in North Carolina. Many delegations of school people from all over the State came to Cary to see this building, and many a building in the next few years was modeled after it."

In 1914, the school changed its name to Cary Public High School and Farm Life School to reflect an expanded curriculum that included vocational agriculture and home economics. The next year, fifteen acres on what is now Walnut Street were donated by James M. Templeton Jr. for hands-on learning in farming. An additional $1,500 was donated by others and the Town of Cary to add a barn, farmhouse, dairy cows, and other stock to the model farm. (The farmhouse survives at 510 Walnut Street.) Students enrolled in the agricultural program would arrive early to milk the cows; the milk was then served with breakfast at the school for boarding students.

In 1915, the Chsite yearbook premiered.Byrd, Thomas M. and Coston, Lisa. Chronology of Cary High School 1896-1996. March 1996. p. 7. Retrieved July 2, 2020. In 1919, students organized a student council, a general athletic association, and The Echo campus newspaper.Byrd, Thomas M. and Coston, Lisa. Chronology of Cary High School 1896-1996. March 1996. p. 8. Retrieved July 2, 2020.Byrd, Thomas M. and Coston, Lisa. Chronology of Cary High School 1896-1996. March 1996. p. 9. Retrieved July 2, 2020. In 1921, a marching band was formed, and school colors of olive green and white were selected, along with the white rose as the school flower.Byrd, Thomas M. and Coston, Lisa. Chronology of Cary High School 1896-1996. March 1996. p. 10. Retrieved July 2, 2020. The school motto was "service".

Also in 1920, Cary voters approve $45,000 in bonds for a new farm life department building. The result was Walter Hines Page Vocational Education Building which was completed in 1922. The next year, a State Normal Class for Teachers was started at Cary High School; this was one of four sites for this program in the state and it operated for five years.Byrd, Thomas M. and Coston, Lisa. Chronology of Cary High School 1896-1996. March 1996. p. 11. Retrieved July 2, 2020. By 1924, students could receive either an academic, agriculture, home economics or teacher training diploma.Byrd, Thomas M. and Coston, Lisa. Chronology of Cary High School 1896-1996. March 1996. p. 12. Retrieved July 2, 2020.

A new gymnasium, the James M. Templeton Physical Education Building, was added to the campus in 1925 at the cost of $12,000. The gym seated 500 people and allowed students to play basketball on a wooden court, rather than on dirt. By 1926, campus athletics included five organized sports—baseball, basketball, football, tennis, and track.Byrd, Thomas M. and Coston, Lisa. Chronology of Cary High School 1896-1996. March 1996. p. 13. Retrieved July 2, 2020. Student clubs included the Boys Glee Club, the Dramatic Club, the Girls Glee Club, the Home Economics Club, four literary societies, and the Science Cub.

In 1926, the school acquired its first bus which traveled 24 miles a day for 22 students. Realizing the potential benefit of buses, the Wake County Board of Education expanded the Cary School District from the Raleigh City limits near the State Fairgrounds to the Durham County line in 1927. Busing allowed the county to consolidate schools in Morrisville, Reedy Creek, and Sorrell's Grove with Cary, closing the smaller locations. At the same time, the Board of Education allocated $38,000 to construct a new building for the Cary High School campus, and an additional $12,000 to update heating systems. The school also had a library with 1,970 volumes.Byrd, Thomas M. and Coston, Lisa. Chronology of Cary High School 1896–1996. March 1996. p. 14. Retrieved July 2, 2020.

When the Great Depression hit Cary, property values dropped which reduced the school tax income. The Board of Education closed Mount Herman and Ebenezer schools, sending those students to Cary. The State legislature increased its funding which helped offset the loss of tax revenue, and eventually ended the local school tax altogether in 1933. However, there were still campus budget cuts such as no new books for the library and ceasing publication of the Chsite yearbook. The dormitories were also closed, ending the school's era of being a boarding school. At this time, grades 1 through 11 were taught at Cary High School under a consolidated school program.Byrd, Thomas M. and Coston, Lisa. Chronology of Cary High School 1896-1996. March 1996. p. 15. Retrieved July 2, 2020. WPA funding allowed the school to expand its athletic fields by five acres.Byrd, Thomas M. and Coston, Lisa. Chronology of Cary High School 1896-1996. March 1996. p. 16. Retrieved July 2, 2020. The community combined WPA funding, county funding, and local support to build what was then one of the finest football stadiums in North Carolina, with seating for 1,500 people.Byrd, Thomas M. and Coston, Lisa. Chronology of Cary High School 1896-1996. March 1996. p. 17. Retrieved July 2, 2020.

The success of the football field project led to the collaborative funding of a new central school building, with the Board of Education providing $70,000 and the WPA providing the balance of the $132,000 cost of construction. The dedication stone of the new building read: Cary High School

First State Public High School

Established in North Carolina on April 3, 1907

This building was erected in 1938.Byrd, Thomas M. and Coston, Lisa. Chronology of Cary High School 1896-1996. March 1996. p. 18. Retrieved July 2, 2020.

However, the building was mostly constructed in 1939. The new three-story building included many modern features, such as a cafeteria, fire doors, a first aid room, an intercom system, a movie projector, a sound-proof typing room, and an auditorium with 834 seats. At the dedication ceremony on March 4, 1940, Governor Clyde Hoey said Cary was "a beacon of hope and inspiration to other communities of the State".Byrd, Thomas M. and Coston, Lisa. Chronology of Cary High School 1896-1996. March 1996. p. 19. Retrieved July 2, 2020. The News and Observer wrote, "Cary High School and its predecessor, Cary Academy, has occupied a position of leadership in the field of secondary education, not only in Wake County but in the State as a whole for 75 years."

In 1941, Cary had the largest high school in Wake County, with 460 students. The next year, Dry retired after 34 years as principal. However, he then began teaching algebra in summer school.Byrd, Thomas M. and Coston, Lisa. Chronology of Cary High School 1896-1996. March 1996. p. 20. Retrieved July 2, 2020. Thaddeus N. Frye became the new principal or superintendent. That same year, Wake County added the 12th grade to its curriculum, and the school year was extended from eight to nine months in 1943.

In 1956, Cary High School was the first school in Wake County to be accredited by the Southern Association of Secondary Schools.Byrd, Thomas M. and Coston, Lisa. Chronology of Cary High School 1896-1996. March 1996. p. 24. Retrieved July 2, 2020. The next year, the Wake County Board of Commissioners purchased forty acres of land for $30,000 from Luther M. Maynard as a site for a new Cary High School.Byrd, Thomas M. and Coston, Lisa. Chronology of Cary High School 1896-1996. March 1996. p. 25. Retrieved July 2, 2020. In 1958, 150 residents debate the proposed location with the Wake County Board of Education; while many liked the new site, others thought the property which was one mile from downtown was too far out in the country and lacked good road access.

However, plans went forward with construction at the new campus. The last graduating class to attend their senior year at the original campus was the Class of 1960; it was also the first class to have more than 100 graduating members. The original campus became Cary Junior High and Elementary School, then Cary Elementary School.Byrd, Thomas M. and Coston, Lisa. Chronology of Cary High School 1896-1996. March 1996. p. 26. Retrieved July 2, 2020. On August 13, 2011, it opened as the Cary Arts Center.

Current campus