Our History
The History of Carver High School – Hamilton, Ga.
According to historical research done by Mrs. Jean A Porch a Carver Alumnus, Carver High School emerged from a union of two church schools maintained by the Methodists and Baptists in our area during the Reconstruction Period following the Civil War. The first evidence of consolidation was for a time, located on the premises of the Friendship Baptist Church in Hamilton. Several years later the Hamilton Colored School came into being. It was a one teacher school for grades 1 – 7. Mr. T. L. Thomason served as superintendent until his death about 1915. He was succeeded by Mr. Tom Wisdom who served until 1931. He was succeeded by Mr. W. B. Wisdom. During this time the school operated on a “split-term”, from January – March and July – August. By 1918, there were two teachers: a Baptist Preacher, Mr. Willie A. Epps, and Mrs. Annie Cook. In 1925, the school term was changed to six consecutive months, October – March.
For the 1927 – 28 term, the faculty increased to five teachers and the following year, home economics was added to the curriculum. In 1930, the school name was changed to Hamilton Colored Junior High School. The 1946 – 47 school term was eight months long, and there were 10 grades. In 1949, the area schools known as Mt. Zion, Mt. Mariah, Hudson, Providence, Armstrong and Rockdale were united with the Hamilton Colored Junior High School and became the Hamilton Consolidated School. Mr. W. A. Long served as the first principal of this consolidated school until he was called to the Armed Services.
The nine months term started with the 1950 – 51 school year. Rev. G. Davis was the principal, but he resigned before the end of October because of poor health. Miss Ardnesa A. Copeland acted as principal until Rev. Sigismund A. Laing was hired in November 1950. The 11th grade was added the following year.
Mr. W. B. Wisdom, superintendent resigned at the end of 1950 and Mr. Zade Kenimer became superintendent in January 1951. Shortly after he took office a bond issue was approved for the purpose of improving schools for Negroes. $300,000 was made available for new buildings.
About that time, the schools known as Bethlehem and Copeland were united with the one in Hamilton. Schools located in the area of the other four centers in Harris County were consolidated with them and the name became Harris County Colored High School.
Under the leadership of Mrs. Willa Owens Thompson, the Jeanes Curriculum Supervisor, a group of teachers in the county completed a survey and made recommendations of needed improvements to Mr. Kenimer on January 10, 1952. They recommended that there should be five school centers. They were to be located in Cataula, Pine Mountain (then known as Chipley), Waverly Hall, Whitesville and Hamilton. The schools were Thomas (Cataula), Dunbar (Chipley/Pine Mountain), Lucy Laney (Waverly Hall) and Johnson elementary (Whitesville). They also recommended that the high school be located in Hamilton. This meant that all students above the 8th grade would be transported to Hamilton, and the four year high school (Carver) came into existence.
Construction of the recommended schools began without delay, and on January 5, 1953, the first unit of the buildings which became Carver – Elementary High School was ready for occupancy. Arrangements for transporting all eligible students from other centers were completed and all persons in the 11th grade formed the first graduating class. The Commencement was held outdoors on May 21, 1953 at 7:30 p.m.
There were 14 faculty members, including the principal, and an enrollment of 384 students. In 1963, ten years later, the staff consisted of 30 members with an enrollment was 796. Enrollment had increased by 412. Carver elementary had seven (7) classrooms. The high school had 15 classrooms, a science department, a commercial education department, an agricultural department, a home economics department, a vocational shop, a library, a cafeteria, and a gymnasium; the principal’s office, a counselor’s office, and offices for the Jeanes Curriculum Supervisor and County Farm Agent; two lounges, a first aid room, a dental clinic, numerous restroom facilities and storages areas.
In 1953, 11 seniors graduated from Carver. Seven years later the graduating class of 1961 had 63 students. This was the largest of the first decade of Carver’s existence. Rev. Laing retired as principal at the end of the 1965 – 66 school term. He will always be remembered as the author of the “Carver Hymn”!
Mr. Edward Robinson became the 2nd principal of Carver at the beginning of the 1966 – 67 school term and served until 1970 when integration sent all high schoolers to Harris County High School, and Carver became Harris County Middle School.
In 1988, because of the tireless efforts of the late Mr. Leo Purnell, Sr. and others, the name Carver was reinstated and the middle school’s name became The Harris County Carver Middle School.
When construction of the new Harris County High School began, and it was learned that the middle school students would be moved to the old Harris County high school building and only a wing of the old Carver High building would be used by the board of education, the Carver High Alumni Association became concerned and set upon the journey to preserve Carver High as a historical site. In August of 1998, after the middle school had relocated, a group from the Carver Alumni Association, with Leonard McGhee acting as spokesman, met with the Harris County Board of Education and requested on behalf of the Alumni Association use of the building. A task force was formed to study the issue and to make recommendations to the board of education.
It was recommended that portions of the building would be leased to the Alumni Association. The facility became known as the Carver Resource Center occupied by the following organizations:
- The Harris County Crossroads Alternative School
- The Enrichment Services Program
- New Horizons Community Services
- The Harris County Board of Community Recreational Department
- A division of West GA Tech out of LaGrange which operate under the umbrella of the Carver Alumni Association; West GA offered a course in Survival Skills for Men and Women and GED Preparation and Testing.
- CISCO Systems
Currently the facility is referred to as the Performance Learning Center. It is occupied by some of the same listed programs and others under the direction of the Harris County Board of Education linked directly to student education, instructional technology and maintenance operations.
Most notably, it is the home of the Carver Museum; a salute to educators which included the grand opening of the Carver Museum – a Pictorial History for 1952 – 1970 was held on Saturday, May 3, 2014. The museum is housed in the cafeteria of the Performance Learning center. It is truly worthy of a visit/tour.
