Hampton High School - Krabba Yearbook (Hampton, VA)

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the aid of contributions it flourished for many years and did a great work among the children of the community. In 1852, when the present public school system had been adopted by the General Assembly, Elizabeth City County decided favorably for it and Hampton Academy was added to the system. Other smaller schools were placed throughout the county, but the Hampton Academy continued to hold the foremost place and had the most advanced course of studies. That is, it was the county high school of that time. The school building was totally destroyed in 1862 when the citizens of Hampton voluntarily burned the town to save it from being used to advantage by the Northern army. However, the mortgage bonds representing its endowment of $10,000 had been preserved by Col. J. C. Phillips and so a small brick building was erected on the same site soon after the war. This served for several years, then it gave way to the larger, modern brick structure erected in 1902 which is there at present. The school was then named the “Syms-Eaton Academy” after its original benefactors. It was while the Hampton Academy was housed in the little brick building that the development of Hampton High School began. In 1897 the public school in the town of Hampton consisted of eight grades and three grades of high school, com¬ prising about four hundred pupils. The housing facilities were sadly inadequate, so the School Board issued bonds and in 1899 the West End Academy, the present John M. Willis School, was established. This building had ten classrooms and a small library. From that time on the standards of the school were raised considerably and the enrollment grew by leaps and bounds so that it was soon found necessary to add to the rear of the building a wing containing eight rooms. Then came the World War. Hampton High School was caught up in the wave of enthusiasm and patriotism that swept the country. New industries and government posts snrang uo all over the Peninsula. People flocked into Hampton and vicinity from all sides bringing with them more boys and girls to be educated. The schools were soon filled to overflowing. As soon as things began to settle down after the war, a great campaign was started by the school board and the school children themselves and the movement to build a new high school was successfully put across. In 1922 the long-desired cornerstone was laid with all ceremony and much rejoicing. The present high school building stands at the corner of Jackson Street and Vic¬ toria Avenue. It is a three story, brick structure, thoroughly modern in every respect. There are nineteen classrooms and laboratories, a librarv, gymnasium, and audi¬ torium. The athletic field, which is soon to be remodeled, adjoins the school grounds. Six courses of study are offered Hampton High School students: general, college preparatory, science, commercial, home arts, and electrical. Physical training and music appreciation are also given. Every phase of school life is represented in the various extra-curricula organizations. Thus the names of Syms and Eaton, Hampton Academy, West End Academy, link Hampton High School with the most illustrious past that a public school could have. May the present students of Hampton High live up worthily to the traditions of the past and thereby know that “success awaits at labor’s gate.” References from Tyler’s History of Hampton , Virginia. 1 1927 Nine X X - — T T XL 11 IJL JL X 11 IT ' XT

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it xr ic !r Tl 1 T X J-L ' JLl ir-T T The New Athletic Field HE dream of many loyal Crabbers, past and present, is soon to be fulfilled. Hampton High School is to have at its disposal a real, modern, improved, handsome athletic field. This is being made possible by Mr. Frank W. Darl¬ ing, one who has always been a staunch friend of Hampton High. Mr. Darling has bought the land on which the old park stood, as well as several lots to the north of it. The swamp at the rear is being filled in. Thus the new athletic field will extend from Victoria Avenue clear across the block to Thornet Street and from the school building back to the fill. The ground is being graded now (April) so that the field will drain quickly after rains. The remains of the old board fence are being torn down and a concrete wall will be built around the whole park. This work is being done by the Gannaway-Hudgins Construction Company and will be completed in time for the football season in the fall. Mr. Darling has stated that he expects to present the athletic field as a gift to the whole community, and especially for the use of the high school teams. Of all the organizations in the town the high school will, without a doubt, receive the most benefit from an athletic field. If Crabber sports have flourished under former difficulties, what future can one predict for them with these facilities and this en¬ couragement that they are about to receive? No citizen could help the boys and girls of his community in any better way than by providing a means for athletic activities, because physical fitness leads to mental alertness and moral sanity, and these are the things that make towns progress and form the motive force of powerful nations. Charles H. Taylor Memorial Library I JT ' Tp HE Charles H. Taylor Memorial Library of this city is the first public county library in the state. It was given to the people of Hampton, Phoebus and Elizabeth City County by Mrs. M. C. Armstrong as a memorial to her father, the late General Taylor. The building is a beautiful brick structure of colo¬ nial design, furnished with the most up-to-date library equipment of its kind. The cos t of the plant represents an expenditure of $26,000. It is maintained by public funds, the Board of Supervisors, City Council and Board of Education sharing in its upkeep. The library was opened to the public July 12, 1926, and has been in active opera¬ tion since. There are now on the shelves 4,420 books with several hundred more to be catalogued. These books were largely donations, 1,350 being transferred from the Esther Burdick library at Syms-Eaton School. The graduate librarian is Miss Bessie Lee Booker, a former teacher of English in Hampton High School. The library is admirably located in close proximity to the high school and the largest grammar school in Hampton. Thus a large number of children readily make use of this splendid institution. There has been a registration of 1,542 people with a steady increase all the time. The Library Board, appointed by Judge C. Vernon Spratley, is composed of M. C. Armstrong, chairman; L. M. Newcomb, vice-chairman; Mrs. L. M. von Schilling, sec¬ retary; Supt. of Schools Robert M. Newton, treasurer; and Mrs. Hunter R. Booker. 1927 ® 35SS Mevi