History of AHS

 

The public school also had an established district. The Andrews City School District covered the Andrews schools and Marble Elementary School. After the 1915 AHS facility was built, the Andrews Grammar School (left in the photo) was built. As previously mentioned, the old Rock Gym was built in 1934 on the east side of the campus. That gym was demolished in 1999 due to deterioration.

 

The next expansion to the campus was in 1952 when the Andrews Primary School was built. This building had a second wing added in 1973, after the burning of the Andrews Grammar School in 1971, and became the new Andrews Elementary School. A third expansion happened when a new gymnasium was added to the west side of the 1973 wing in 2003. The primary school building featured nine classrooms with exterior doors, and each classroom having their own restroom. Each room was painted with pastel colors. There were also offices and a boiler room in the building. The architect was Lindsey Madison Gudger, who would also design the Marble school a few years later.

 

 

Marble Elementary was also part of the Andrews City School District. The old schoolhouse was also part of the local Baptist church. A new school facility was voted on by the Andrews Board of Education, and plans were underway as early as 1952. Gudger designed a new facility around 1954, and construction began in 1955. The new Marble Elementary School was completed in 1956.

 

Plans were being discussed for a new high school building in 1960. The plan would have been to build a new school within the next 2-3 years. That technically did end up happening when the school burned two years later.

 

Within the time that the Andrews City School District existed, the School House Hill changed dramatically. The only school that survived burning and demolition was the Andrews Primary School, but even it changed a lot too. On July 1, 1969, the Andrews and Murphy districts dissolved and merged with Cherokee County Schools, which operated Martins Creek, Hiwassee Dam, and other schools outside of the Murphy city limits and the  Andrews district. The last superintendent of ACS was Landrum Wilson, who started just the year prior. CCS superintendent Lloyd Hendrix retired after 30 years of service that same day. The new superintendent of the new Cherokee County Schools was Murphy superintendent John Jordan.

 

 

Marble plaque commemorating the construction of Andrews High School from 1962 to 1963

 

After the burning of the school, plans were made to quickly build a new facility. Designed by Chivous Gilmer Harrill, who also designed Murphy High in 1956, a new 48,000 square foot facility was built in the spring of 1963, and a second wing, the cafeteria/gym building, was opened later that year. The new campus contained various classrooms, offices, and a stage where the weight room is today. Windows in the main building spanned from wall to wall, with skylights also helping with additional light.

 

In 1970, the Andrews Junior High building, now Building B, was built. This was a smaller building to house the 7th-8th grades. In 1973, the band program was founded. The Hugh Hamilton Stadium was built around 1976. In 1977, the girls' varsity basketball team won the state in 1A.

 

 Around 1978, the enrollment at Andrews Senior and Junior High was about 600, and the enrollment at the nearby elementary school was about 800, totaling about 1400. Andrews had a percentage of 64% of graduates who moved into higher education, compared to the state average of that time of 30%. 98.6% of that 64% received scholarships or financial aid through the efforts of student counselors. In 1978, Andrews was number 3 in the state of North Carolina in scholarship money awarded. Andrews was the top school in North Carolina for placement in summer jobs in 1979. Andrews had up to 8 sports around 1979, which was very high over the usual 2 or 3 sports for a school of its size. Band, art, and chorus were offered at Andrews High School, which was not usually found in schools with small enrollments. Band and art are still offered as electives today. An on-campus master's program was offered at Andrews with the help of Western Carolina University.

 

In 1985, the Band & Art Building was constructed to the northwest of the school. This was part of a project to build Cultural Arts buildings at Andrews, Murphy, and Hiwassee Dam High Schools. In 1987, the shop building was constructed next to the Band & Art building. The Kenneth Moore Track was constructed at AHS in the Hugh Hamilton Stadium in 1990. TVs were also installed in the school in 1990.

 

In 1992, Andrews High was renovated. Renovations included changing windows in the three main buildings, new entrance doors to the Admin and Gym/Cafeteria building, and new bleachers in the gym.

 

Cherokee County Schools launched their website http://www.grove.net/~coffice/ around 1997/1998. The site later became http://www.cherokee.k12.nc.us around 2000. This featured all the schools' webpages. Our site was http://www.grove.net/~coffice/AHS.html. Andrews High operated as a junior and senior high school until 1996, when the Andrews Junior High was renamed to Andrews Middle. In 1999, the new Andrews Middle facility opened on the east side of town. Andrews High was a 7-12 school, and Andrews Elementary held K-6 across the street. The building of Andrews Middle was completed around 1999, and classes at the new school began in August. Andrews High now began operating as a traditional 9-12 high school.

 

In 2004, Andrews High was once again renovated. The most notable were the exterior changes, as a new roof was built on the main building (Building A), with a gable roof, instead of the previous flat roof, giving the building a taller look. Removal of the skylights in each building occurred. The gymnasium is now the only part of the school with skylights. The ceilings in all the classrooms were lowered.

 

In 2011, the former Junior High School/Middle School building, Building B, was expanded on the west side and the northern part of the building. On the north side, a large new choral room with two offices was added. The west side of the building also saw the addition of restrooms. On January 15, 2016, the school gymnasium was dedicated as the Ken Solesbee Athletic Center, in honor of coach Kenneth Solesbee, a prominent figure in Andrews' athletic history. The dedication also included naming the court the Ken Solesbee Court, refurbishing the bleachers, and repainting the entrance to the center.

Superintendents & Principals of Andrews High

Principals (1893-1906)
O.C. Huskins (circa 1899)
Superintendents of Andrews City Schools (1906-1969)
John H. Highwood (1906-????)
F.C. Nye (circa 1923)
C.W.E. Pittman (????-1932)
J.J. Stone (1932-1935)
Isham Barney Hudson (1935-1951)
J.E. Rufty (1951-1959)
Charles O. Frazier (1959-1967)
Fred W. Rogers (1967-1968)
Landrum Wilson (1968-1969)
Principals (1969-Present)
Mack D. Jones (1969-1971)
William Roy Pipes (1971-1976)
Maynard Brown (1976-1981)
William Roy Pipes (1982-1983)
Joseph C. Morrow (1983-1988)
Stephen Tim Coffey (1988-1997)
Mike Rogers (1997-2004)
Olin O'Barr (2004-2006)
Stephen Tim Coffey (2006-2008)
Floyd A. Lowman (2008-2009)
Virginia C. Haynes (2009-2015)
Dr. Lisa Anderson Fletcher (2015-2021)
Lance Bristol (2021-2024)
Dr. Sheryl Rogers (2024-10/2025)
Ruby Cutshaw & Thomas Graham (10/2025 Interims)
Dorin Oxender (10/2025-Present)