Last updated: April 18, 2026
- Organized: 1917 by a committee under Brown McReynolds
- Opened: 1918, in rented space in South Pittsburg
- Rosenwald building: 1921, 22 rooms, built by S. W. Hogan
- Final class: 1966
- Location: South Pittsburg, Tennessee
McReynolds High School was the Black high school serving Marion County, Tennessee and northern Jackson County, Alabama during the Jim Crow era. It operated in various forms from 1918 to 1966, after which its students were absorbed into the county's three white high schools and formal integration of Marion County Schools was complete.
Founding (1917–1921)
In 1917, no high school existed for Black students in Marion County. Brown McReynolds led a committee to organize one. A first high-school program opened in rented space in 1918, but fire destroyed that school in 1919.
In 1921, with funding from the county, the Julius Rosenwald Fund, and citizen contributions, a 22-room school was constructed by builder S. W. Hogan. The new school was named in honor of Brown McReynolds. The school's first principal, M. M. Burnett (sometimes spelled Burnette), served for 25 years and later wrote A History of the Development of Negro Public Schools in Marion County, Tennessee from 1929 to 1950, now held at Tennessee State University's School Desegregation Digital Collection.
Operation
McReynolds was the only Black high school for the region and drew students from both Marion County, Tennessee and northern Jackson County, Alabama. In 1949, a gymnasium was built on the campus, which would outlive the main school building.
The 1965 fire and integration
On July 28, 1965, a fire of unknown origin destroyed the main McReynolds High School building. With the school set to open weeks later, the 1949 gymnasium was partitioned into makeshift classrooms and served Black students for one more year. The last class graduated in 1966. After that year, Marion County Schools were integrated; Black students attended South Pittsburg, Marion County, and Whitwell high schools. Marion County's integration was comparatively late, and fire-driven in its final form.
The abandoned building
For decades the old gymnasium stood at the foot of the mountain in front of South Pittsburg's old City Cemetery. Between 2017 and 2018, a series of three fires hit the abandoned building over a one-year span. A 2017 fire was ruled arson; the 2018 fire destroyed what remained of the structure. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation was involved.
Historical marker
A Tennessee Historical Commission marker, number 2B 33, was dedicated in honor of McReynolds High School by the South Pittsburg Historic Preservation Society. Text from the marker is preserved in the Historical Marker Database.
Related
About South Pittsburg High School →
About Marion County High School →
About Whitwell High School →
About the city of South Pittsburg →
Sources
- Wikipedia — McReynolds High School
- South Pittsburg Historic Preservation Society — McReynolds High School
- Historical Marker Database — McReynolds High School (marker 2B 33)
- Fisk Rosenwald Fund Collection — McReynolds
- Chattanooga Times Free Press — 2018 McReynolds fire
- MCNewsTN — SPHPS honors McReynolds with Historical Commission marker
- Tennessee State University — School Desegregation Digital Collection