Last updated: April 18, 2026
- Opened: 1910
- Location: 160 Ridley Drive, Jasper, TN 37347
- Mascot: Warriors
- District: Marion County Schools (MCSS)
- Grades: 9–12
Marion County High School, also known as MCHS, is the public high school in Jasper, serving grades 9–12 as part of Marion County Schools. Its mascot is the Warriors. The school traces its roots to the Pryor Institute, the private co-educational school whose building was sold to the county in 1910 to establish public secondary education in Jasper.
Founding (1910)
In 1910 Marion County purchased the Pryor Institute building and established Marion County High School on the site. The transition marked the formal shift from private-academy education to a public high school in the county seat. Annuals from 1897 onward, held at the Jasper History Museum, document the continuity of student life across the Pryor-to-MCHS transition.
The South Pittsburg rivalry
MCHS's rivalry with South Pittsburg High School began in 1924, the year SPHS was founded. South Pittsburg won the first game 27–0, and the two schools played twice in each of 1924 and 1925. The series became the second-oldest continuous high-school football rivalry in Tennessee, trailing only Harriman vs. Rockwood, which began in 1921. The eight-mile distance between the two communities inspired the book Eight Hateful Miles. The annual game ended in 2021.
Academics and athletics
MCHS offers Advanced Placement coursework and Project Lead The Way engineering and biomedical tracks. Current enrollment is roughly 491 students. In December 2018, when Whitwell won its first TSSAA Class 1A state football title, Marion County became the only county in Tennessee in which every high-school football program had won a state championship, MCHS having earned its own titles during earlier decades.
Feeders
The school's feeder pattern runs through Jasper Elementary School and Jasper Middle School, both operated by Marion County Schools.
Related
About Pryor Institute (predecessor) →
About South Pittsburg High School (rival) →
About Whitwell High School →