Cherryville High School is a high school in the Gaston County Schools public school district located in Cherryville, NC. Its attendance area covers northwestern Gaston County, and it also serves the western part of the community of Tryon and the surrounding rural area. Shawn Hubers currently serves as principal. Heather Parrish serves as assistant principal. Scott Harrill serves as athletic director. The feeder middle school is Chavis.
Early history
The town's first public, permanent school building was constructed in 1892 on land donated by Mr. W.R. Carroll and Mr. M.L. Dellinger. It was located west/southwest of downtown, very near the intersection of West Academy Street and Dixie Streets in Cherryville and was a rectangular frame building with two floors and a front bell tower. The new building, facing east, was called The Cherryville Academy and was utilized for about 25 years until a much larger brick building was constructed in 1915 on East First Street.
In 1902 the Cherryville Township voted to levy a special tax against its citizens to publicly maintain a graded school, including the introduction of a high school. In the fall of 1908, the Cherryville Academy School officially passed the state requirements for graduating students following 11 years of formal instruction. It achieved this significant milestone, as a "North Carolina state high school", under the administration of Principal J.W. Strassell.
The Academy
The "Academy", which was abandoned in 1915 for the new brick structure, was significant because it heralded the first graduating class from Cherryville Schools: two girls and four boys.
Growth
In June 1915 the town bought a five-acre tract of land on the north side of First Street between Pink and Depot Streets for $1,450 from Mr. Joseph Black. A new three-story brick school was erected, housing 19 classrooms for both elementary and high school students and a large auditorium.
With the construction of another brick two-story school building ("Elementary Number 2 School"; later "West School") in 1925 the First Street location became home to Cherryville High School (CHS). In 1927 a modern gymnasium was completed on the school campus.
The Great Depression of 1929 impacted the Cherryville City School System. Early victims were the home economics' department and the public school music teacher position, which were not reinstituted until 1931.
In 1936 a third, large, two-story brick building was constructed on the east portion of the original five-acre tract bought in 1915. The older school (constructed in 1915) became home to the first seven grades as was renamed "Elementary Number 1 School".
The 1940s
Significant curriculum changes advanced Cherryville High School through the 1940s. By 1943 the nine-month school year was incepted, increasing annual school days from 160 to 180. A 12th grade was added to the high school in the fall of 1945 and the ninth grade officially became the first year of the high school program.
Cherryville City Schools Superintendent Foster W. Starnes devoted much effort to the erection of large, modern auditorium in 1949 at a cost of $125,000, which was subsequently named in honor of Starnes. The same year a vocational wing was added to the east side of the high school building to accommodate home economics, agricultural and shop instruction.
The spring of 1947 marked the first graduating class, having completed 12 years of formal instruction. The class of 1950 was the first to hold commencement exercises in the new F. W. Starnes Auditorium.
The 1950s
The early 1950s bolstered the Cherryville tradition of community involvement in and support of the high school: Cherryville High School met requirements to become a member of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools in 1951. The Cherryville Woman's Club made a donation towards additional equipment for the library. In 1952 a CHS Parent-Teacher Association was formed.
Also in 1952 a new high school classroom addition was constructed, specific for the business and commercial instruction department at CHS. This building, immediately to the west of Starnes Auditorium, now houses part of Cherryville's Blaine Beam Intermediate School.
