Haines City High School - History

History

The first settlers arrived in Haines City in 1881. Two years later, they built the first school on Hinson Avenue where the current City Hall building is located. The two-story wooden structure had a school enrollment of nine students. In 1918, a yellow brick elementary school for grades one through eight was built. Any student wishing a high school education had to attend classes in Lakeland, located 25 miles away from Haines City. Clay Cut was the original name of this quaint little town. In 1883, when trains would pass through this Central Florida area, they were lost from sight because of the railroad tracks that were built so deep in the clay. Later, when an officer with the South Florida Railroad named Colonel Henry Haines brought about the building of the town's train station, he was honored with the city being named after him. Thus, Haines City was born.

In 1916, the first citrus processing plant in the United States was built in Haines City and made the city all that it is today. The city lived and died with the successes and failures of this processing plant. The town experienced a mighty growth in population through these years until the mid-1890s. Haines City suffered immensely from severe freezes on the citrus crop and the city was almost destroyed by a fire. The citrus industry eventually recovered from the devastation, and in the 1920s, Haines City profited from a large population boost. As a result the community was incorporated, the city limits were expanded and many residential and commercial building were erected. Haines City has grown by leaps and bounds since then and has become a community to be proud of.

The first serving grades one through twelve was built in 1922-23 on Ledwith Avenue where the city tennis court facility is now located. A new school, called Central Elementary, was built in 1925-26 across the street, and it was here in 1926 that Haines City's first high school graduation ceremony took place. A new high school was built next to Central Elementary on Ledwith Avenue in 1949. It received national recognition in an architectural periodical for its innovative design. When it opened, it housed grade seven through twelve, but was later changed to grades ten through twelve and three additions were added to the school. With continued enrollment demands, the school was forced to seek a new location which could accommodate the rapidly growing area around the community.

In 1976, the school moved to a new location on Grace Avenue. In the past twenty year since moving, the high school has added a gymnasium, a new agricultural and industrial arts complex, a new science building in 1990 and a new social studies wing in 1991. In addition, the old football facility at Yale field, owned by the city of Haines City, was renamed in honor of former longtime coach Joseph Stangry and relocated to the new campus. Since that time, track and field facilities, baseball, softball, and soccer fields have been constructed. The school recently purchased land north of the school complex to house additions to the agricultural program and develop a Land Lab. The school also experienced massive growth when the ninth grade was added to the campus from Haines City Junior High School, adding approximately twenty percent to the enrollment figures. In 1992, the Student Council petitioned the city of Haines City to name the portion of Grace Avenue adjacent to the school after its mascot, The Hornets. The City Commission unanimously approved the request, renaming the street to Hornet Drive.