Hueytown High School
| Hueytown High School | |
| |
| Established | 1921 |
|---|---|
| School type | Public |
| District | Jefferson County Schools |
| Grades | 9-12 |
| Principal | Gayle Gober |
| Enrollment | 1,032 (2007) |
| Colors | purple & gold |
| Mascot | Golden Gophers |
| Location | 131 Dabbs Avenue Hueytown |
| Website | hueytownhighschool.com |
Hueytown High School is a four year public high school in the Jefferson County School System which primarily serves the city of Hueytown. It is located at 131 Dabbs Avenue. The school was founded in 1921 and currently has an enrollment of 1,032 students.
The school's colors are purple and gold, and the teams are nicknamed the "Golden Gophers".
History
Hueytown High School held its first classes beginning February 25, 1921 in a white-stuccoed building at the corner of present-day Allison-Bonnett Memorial Drive and High School Road. Previously, 66 students in Hueytown, Concord, Pleasant Grove and several other communities had to make the long trip to Bessemer High School every day. 25 seniors made up the school's first graduating class of 1922.
The first principal was Harley Gilmore, who held the job, as well as the role of athletics director, until he retired in 1956. Hueytown High played its first football game against Jefferson County High School on September 30, 1921, losing 41-0. The next week they defeated Alliance High School 9-0. Hueytown's 1933 football stadium, built with WPA labor, now bears his name.
In the first years, Gilmore and a staff of five teachers instructed students in French, Latin, chemistry, mathematics, history, home economics and woodworking. Students also participated in debating societies and in theater productions. Clapboard wings and a second story were added to the school in the 1930s. A gymnasium was constructed about 1940.
After Gilmore's retirement, the principal's office was occupied by Charles Vines. The present campus was completed in fall 1958 while the old building was converted into W. I. Pittman Junior High School, until it was finally closed in the late 1960s and the building demolished in 1972.
In 2009 the Jefferson County Board of Education solicited bids for the construction of a new Hueytown High School on a 108 acres campus off 15th Street. The $37 million building accommodates 1,200 students with a 100-seat lecture hall, 650-seat auditorium, 1,600-seat competition gym and a performing arts center and dance studio. The new school opened for classes in the fall of 2011 and its completion was celebrated with a ribbon-cutting on January 18, 2012.
Principals
Notable alumni
- Jeremy Brown, class of 1998 - professional baseball player
- Adam Bonner, class of 1999 - professional baseball player
- Russ Davis, class of 1987 - professional baseball player
- Robert Higginbotham, long-time head football coach at Mountain Brook, Shades Valley and Tuscaloosa County High Schools
- Primus Mack, class of 1973 - pastor of Saint Mark Baptist Church and member of the Fairfield City Council
- Patrick Sellers, pastor of Cathedral of Faith Baptist Church
- Brett Taft, class of 1992 - professional baseball player
References
- Curry, Johnny (n. d.) "The Original Hueytown High School". Hueytown Historical Society - accessed February 20, 2007
- Hueytown Historical Society (n. d.) "Through the Years" - accessed February 20, 2007
- Faulk, Kent (July 8, 2009) "Jefferson County school board names Gayle Gober Hueytown High principal; bids on new Hueytown High school to be opened next week." Birmingham News
External links
- Hueytown High School website
- Hueytown High School alumni website
- Hueytown High School football history from ahsfhs.org website