Houston County Training (Houston County High) School got its beginnings in the basement of New Hope Baptist Church, with 2 teachers and 35 students. By the time a school was built (named Perry Training School) there were approximately 280 students).  

          A woodwork shop was on the grounds and the boys made furnishings and seating for the use at the school as well as other schools. The Parent Teacher Association raised funds to purchase a piano for the use of instrumental training and entertainment.

      On June 1, 1908 an educational rally was held at New Hope Baptist Church for the purpose of securing a high school for the Black children in the county near Perry. There were sermons preached each night of the five-day rally and donations were solicited for the building of the school. The preachers were F. H. Howard, I. G. Freeman, P. S. Killen, W.C. Lawrence and G. G. Taylor. Each night a topic was presented and discussed: 

1st -  “Why Perry has not a City Public School”, by Victoria Rollins

2nd - “Ought Perry to have a school for the colored”, Lula Collins

3rd -  "Should we be contented without a High and Industrial School at Perry?” Florence Nobles

4th -  “Who should we expect to build a High School at Perry for the Negroes?”, Annie M. Lewis,  

5th-  “The relation the county has to the town along the educational line.”, Annie Belle Ragin.

       

     In 1925, the  "Perry County Training School" on W.F. Ragin Drive was built with funds raised by the Black community ($2500), Rosenwald funds ($1300) and Public funds ($3100).  After A.D. Redmond’s death (Principal for 25 years at HCTS), this school was purchased by his wife, Lila Redmond, Susie Tharpe, Connie Jones, Willie F. Ragin and Samuel Collins. It was remodeled and used as the A. D. Redmond Recreation Center.

      47 years later the county finally built a High School for the Black children in the county.  Houston County Training School (also known as Houston High) was a contemporary style school built in 1955 by the Houston County Board of Education as a segregated school.   On September 12, 1955, Houston County Training School and three other new schools opened their doors to hundreds of black children. The three other schools were: New Hope Elementary School, James E. Ash, principal; Southside Elementary School, Walter Rollins, principal, and Pearl Stephens Elementary School, J.P. Johnston, principal. The principal of Houston County Training School was Adleigh "A.D." Redmond. He served as principal for 25 years. James Hightower was the second and last principal. In 1966, the school’s name was changed to Houston County High School.

    

     Houston County Training/High School was a historical school because it was the only high school for black children. Children came from all around Houston County, Georgia to receive their education.  

This was not just a school, it was the foundation of our unity. The teachers cared about each and every student as if their own. The name was changed in 1966 to Houston County High School. 

     By the spring of 1970, integration began and the school was abandoned. Black students were scattered to other schools but were still separated in classrooms. No integration took place at Houston County High – because white folk did not want their children attending a “black” school.

     For years the school sat abandoned – later the doors reopened and served many purposes including office space for Board of Education employees, storage, Houston Junior High School, Perry Middle School, and Perry Primary School.  The doors were permanently closed, and sadly the walls came down in 2018.