Concord High School (North Carolina) - History

History

The Concord City Schools were formed in late 1891, after passage of a citywide voter referendum on November 2, 1891. The system began with a single school building, the Concord Graded School, in the late 1890s. The Concord City Schools (CCS) continued in operation until its merger with the Cabarrus County Schools on July 1, 1983.

As the schools and community grew, so did the need for new facilities. The first graduating class of Concord High School appears to have been in 1912 (1911-12 school year). The high school was initially part of "Concord Central School," which housed all grades and was located at the present site of Coltrane-Webb Elementary School on North Spring Street. A picture of the 1914 Concord High School graduating class of 29 students may be found in the 1988 book, The Heritage of Cabarrus County. The picture was likely taken at the Central School.

In 1913, Concord voters approved another referendum for school facilities, including a separate high school building. The Board of Education immediately received a gift of the old Lutheran church property on East Corban Street. On June 8, 1914, the board agreed to build a new high school with six classsrooms and an auditorium on this site (later to become Clara Harris Elementary School). This Concord High School was completed in April 1915 and it would serve as Concord High from 1915-1924. In 1922, a new larger high school was proposed, and city voters again approved bonds, this time in the amount of $225,000, for a new high school. This school was to be "a showcase of education for the city," located on Beech and Cedar Streets just north of downtown. The ornate, three-story brick building was completed in 1924, including a large auditorium, and adjoining playing fields.

Although part of the school was destroyed by fire in 1937, it was rebuilt - including a larger, grander auditorium, later named Sauvain Auditorium, for school and civic events. Sauvain Auditorium was the focus of many shows and performances, and was widely heralded for its beauty and acoustics. This facility would remain Concord High School for 43 years, until the CCS Board of Education selected and built a new school in northeast Concord. The existing building became Concord Junior High in 1967 (Concord Middle School 1976-1990s), when it was replaced by a new school on NC 73 east of Concord. The 1924 school building is now the Glenn Alternative Center for the Cabarrus County Schools, and is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Concord High School moved to its current location, situated on a wooded hilltop on Burrage Road in northeast Concord, in August 1967. The new school, which opened as Concord Senior High School (grades 10-12), featured a two-story modern 1960s layout and design to maximize circulation and HVAC efficiency. However, the design was such that the school appeared to have no "front," a quirk that was resolved during a renovation in the late 1990s. In 1974, the Concord City Schools moved to the 5-3-4 school grade model, and the school was again known as Concord High School, with grades 9-12.

In the 1968-69 school year, the Concord City Schools integrated high schools (other grades integrated in 1969-70). Concord High became the sole public high school in the district as students from Logan High School, the historic African-American school, were transferred to Concord High.

Located in a natural bowl alongside the school is the athletic stadium, which was dedicated as Robert C. Bailey Memorial Stadium in 1977, named for the longtime team physician, the late Dr. Robert C. Bailey. The stadium opened for play in 1967, with the first game played against Central Cabarrus High School. Bailey Memorial Stadium is widely considered one of the more scenic stadiums among North Carolina high schools, nestled within a hardwood forest that is ablaze with color in the late fall. The horseshoe stadium features 5,000 fixed seats, most with aluminum seating, and a grassy horseshoe that can accommodate an additional 8,000 fans, for a total capacity of 13,000, a capacity that has been reached on occasion, usually in the annual "Battle of the Bell" game. Graduation was held in the Bailey Memorial Stadium each year, weather permitting, through 2002. In 2003, graduation for Concord High School, as well as all other Cabarrus County schools, was moved to the Cabarrus Arena and Events Center, and has been held at the Center each year since.

Two major additions have been made to the 1967 high school building in the nearly four decades since. The school remains at this location on Burrage Road.

The enrollment at Concord High School in the 2007-08 school year is 1,194 students in grades 9-12.