Canton High School (Mississippi)
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox school
| address = 634 Finney Road
| city = Canton, Mississippi
| schooltype = Public
| established = 1874
| district = Canton Public School District
| us_nces_district_id = 2800900
| superintendent = Gary P. Hannah
| us_nces_school_id = 280090000101
| principal = Kari Johnson
| grades = 10-12
| enrollment = 643 (2023-2024){{cite web|url=https://nces.ed.gov/ccd/schoolsearch/school_detail.asp?Search=1&DistrictID=2800900&ID=280090000101|title=Canton Public High School|publisher=National Center for Education Statistics|access-date=February 1, 2025}}
| colors = Royal blue and gold
{{color box|royalblue}} {{color box|gold}}{{Cite web|title=MHSAA School Directory|url=https://www.misshsaa.com/mhsaa-school-directory/|access-date=2024-03-09|website=Mississippi High School Activities Association|language=en-US}}
| website = https://www.cantonschools.net/Domain/11
}}
File:Canton_High_School,_Canton,_Mississippi.JPG
Canton High School is a public high school in Canton, Mississippi. It is part of the Canton Public School District. All of the student body is categorized as economically disadvantaged and almost 100 percent are African American.https://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/mississippi/districts/canton-public-school-district/canton-public-high-school-11227
In addition to Canton it serves a part of Gluckstadt.{{cite web|url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/DC2020/PL20/st28_ms/schooldistrict_maps/c28089_madison/DC20SD_C28089.pdf|title=2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Madison County, MS|publisher=U.S. Census Bureau|accessdate=2021-06-30}} - The map shows the former Gluckstadt census-designated place. The city since incorporated, and [https://www.gluckstadtms.org/sites/default/files/fileattachments/planning_amp_zoning_department/page/133/admin_copy_of_official_zoning_map_thru_ord_2022-14_11.08.22_002.pdf this is the zoning map of the incorporated city].
History
Canton High School was preceded by Canton Female Academy.{{Cite book |last=Mississippi |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WspJAQAAMAAJ&dq=canton+ladies+academy.mississippi&pg=PA396 |title=Laws of the State of Mississippi |date=1836 |publisher=authority |language=en}} The school has also been documented as Canton Young Ladies' Academy. Canton High School started its first 10 month session in 1874.{{cite news |title=Canton High School |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/112597853/canton-high-school/ |access-date=5 November 2022 |work=The American Citizen |date=31 October 1874}}
The school's historic building was designed by Jackson architect N. W. Overstreet and built in 1923. It closed in 1969, but has since been used as a furniture store and church.http://www.historic-structures.com/ms/canton/canton_high_school.php{{cite web |title=National Register of Historic Places: Registration Form |url=https://npgallery.nps.gov/GetAsset/a3e4ee2d-5db6-41f1-a5d0-1c12287ed3a6 |website=npgallery.nps.gov |access-date=5 November 2022}} In 2015, the building and its additions were renovated for use as apartments.{{Cite web|url=https://misspreservation.com/2015/08/04/from-former-canton-high-school-to-canton-high-apartments/|title=From Former Canton High School to Canton High Apartments|date=August 4, 2015}}
Madison County Training School served the area.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z3IBsBuuoIEC&q=rogers+high+school+canton+high+school+mississippi|title=Madison County Mississippi|first=Jennifer E.|last=Cheeks-Collins|date=October 14, 2002|publisher=Arcadia Publishing|isbn=9780738514420 |via=Google Books}} A. M. Rogers High School was dedicated in 1958 in the wake of Brown v Board of Education and served the area's African American students.{{Cite web|url=http://suzassippi.blogspot.com/2015/08/cameron-street-school-complex-in-canton.html|title=Suzassippi's Lottabusha County Chronicles: Cameron Street School Complex in Canton|date=August 23, 2015}} Students protested poor conditions and supplies.https://www.crmvet.org/docs/640301_core_canton_student-demands.pdf The school was described by some to bear a "striking resemblance of an auction barn" and to be "inadequate to provide for each child the maximum educational opportunity that this day and age demand".{{cite news |title=NAACP Assails new Negro school at Canton |publisher=Hattiesburg American |date=October 27, 1958 |page=1}}
Canton School Superintendent D. M. Allen touted investments in segregated schools and criticized the pulling of students in protests during 1964.https://www.crmvet.org/docs/640302_core_canton-boycott.pdf In 1964, parents attempted to register their children at Belmont High School decrying the poor conditions and limited offerings available to them at the city's segregated schools.https://www.crmvet.org/docs/pr/640903_pr_core_parents.pdf In 1969, the school was renamed to Canton High School after the historic building closed.{{Cite book |last=Cheeks-Collins |first=Jennifer E. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z3IBsBuuoIEC |title=Madison County Mississippi |date=2002 |publisher=Arcadia Publishing |isbn=978-0-7385-1442-0 |language=en}}
Athletics
Tigers are the school mascot, and the school colors are blue and gold.{{Cite web|url=https://www.maxpreps.com/ms/canton/canton-tigers/|title=Canton (MS) High School Sports - Football, Basketball, Baseball, Softball, Volleyball, and more | MaxPreps|website=www.maxpreps.com}} The school's football team dates to 1910 and has an 0-10 playoff record.{{Cite web|url=https://www.ahsfhs.org/mississippi/Teams/teampage.asp?Team=Canton|title=Mississippi High School Football History|website=www.ahsfhs.org}} Calvin Bolton is the team's coach.{{Cite web |last=Wilson |first=Robert |date=2022-08-30 |title=Canton Starts Season With 14-12 Victory Over Madison County Rival Velma Jackson, Goal Is To Win First Playoff Game In School History |url=https://mississippiscoreboard.com/canton-starts-season-with-14-12-victory-over-madison-county-rival-velma-jackson-goal-is-to-win-first-playoff-game-in-school-history/ |access-date=2023-11-17 |website=Mississippi Scoreboard |language=en-US}}
Ernest Alley coached at the school for several years in the 1930s.https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-knoxville-journal/165429135/
Alumni
- Damien Lewis, football player{{Cite web|url=https://www.wjtv.com/sports-zone/damien-lewis-from-canton-to-the-nfl/|title=Damien Lewis: from Canton to the NFL|date=April 24, 2020}}
- George Doherty, football player and coach
- Marsha Barbour, first lady of Mississippi from 2004 to 2012
- Kenneth Wayne Jones, politician
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Education in Madison County, Mississippi}}
Category:Public high schools in Mississippi
Category:Schools in Madison County, Mississippi
Category:School buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Mississippi
Category:National Register of Historic Places in Madison County, Mississippi
Category:Educational institutions established in 1874