The first graduating class of LHS was 120 years ago

TOP PHOTO: This is the third and final campus for La Follette High School. The auditorium, far left, still stands today and is part of what is now La Follette Middle School on East Central Avenue.

By Charlie Hutson

LAFOLLETTE, TN (WLAF)- It was Monday, January 19, 1953, when La Follette High School Principal L. Hope Dossett welcomed students into the new, and what would be the last, La Follette High School.

La Follette High School actually began in 1904 (below) on South Cumberland Avenue where the La Follette Church of Christ now sits. That’s between East Central Avenue and East Beech Street. That said, May 2025 marks the 100th anniversary of the first graduating class of LHS.

Portions of the old school’s front steps remained in place until the early 1990s.

In 1917, a new high school (below) was built near the top of the hill on West Central Avenue overlooking downtown. The school was built without a kitchen or cafeteria.

Here, more than 100 years after this school’s construction, a McDonald’s will sit on this land before the end of 2025.

A big addition was constructed in 1925 to expand the new school. It was added to the back of the building making it two stories in the back. There was already a two story front to the building. The new two story addition included five classrooms and two restrooms on the top section while the lower level housed the gymnasium, stands, locker rooms and two classrooms.

In 1948, the state fire marshal ordered emergency chutes to be installed on the front two story portion of the building. Before that, there was only one way up and one way down to the second floor. There were two entrances/exits to the newer two story addition.

Emergency chutes were installed on each side of the school.

In 1951, the county purchased the Clifford McCarty home and property located just inside the east city limits of La Follette. The 14 acres of property included a new stone home, built in 1950. All that cost $50,000 or $631,210 in today’s dollars.

Architects completed plans for the new high school in June 1951. Construction bids were opened three months later in September. Local contractor, Pennington & Mackabee secured the bid for $384, 824 or $4,858,095 in 2025 dollars. Construction began in November 1951, and the move in began over holiday break in December 1952.

The new La Follette High School included 13 classrooms, a cafeteria with a seating capacity of 350. Originally, there were more than 500 lockers. The home economics classroom was housed on the front side of the school in what was once the McCarty home.

The bare sport to the left was part of the baseball field with a large set of bleachers on either side of the football field at the back of the school.

A large auditorium was included on the LHS campus and located on the west end of the building. The gym, a palace, was constructed on the east end of the campus creating bookends for the school along with the auditorium. At the time, the new gym was the second largest in East Tennessee, second only to the Oak Ridge High School Gym. The new LHS gym was 80 feet by 90 feet and seated 2,500 fans.

This is the center court circle from the original gym floor at La Follette High School and is mounted on the wall outside the new gym, Coach Vic King Court. This floor was used by the Owls from January 1953 until February 1972. A new floor was laid on top of the old floor in the late summer-early fall of 1972.

Fast forward to Sunday, May 25, 1975, at 7:30pm, in the La Follette High Gym; graduation day for the LHS Class of 1974-75. This was the last graduating class ever for La Follette High School.

La Follette Middle School Principal Stefan Piercy displays a drawing of the original gym that was donated by former Owl Brent McNeeley.

This week marks the 50th year of that milestone graduation.

So, the Class of ’75 turned out the light for the final time at LHS on this long ago week in 1975. Go! Owls! (WLAF NEWS PUBLISHED-05/28/2025-6AM)

3 Replies to “Last graduating class from La Follette High was 50 years ago”

  1. Thanks for this article, it brings back a lot of good memories. I also was one of the first to graduate from the New LaFollette High in 1954.

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