Lexington High School - Crystal Yearbook (Lexington, VA)

Page 29 text:

This is an old Miley photograph looking north on Main Street. Legend has it that this depicts General Lee’s funeral proces- sion in 1870. Michael Miley was a well- known Lexington photographer after the Civil War. He is best known for his photo- graphs of Lee. However , in 1903 he, also, perfected and patented the three color pro- cess well before its time. A number of old Miley plates have come to light recently and are now being printed. Notice the cracks in the glass negative. The Stonewall Jackson Home, once a hos- pital, has been rennovated and is now a museum. This charming 19th century house once stood on the site of the present day Leg- gett’s building. Mrs. Alphin poses in front of Lexington’s foremost tourist attraction. Lee Chapel serves as a memorial to R. E. Lee. Kerr’s Creek and Lexington pupils at- tended “ Waddell ” until “LHS” was built. It now serves as a city school for grades K-4. !

Page 28 text:

“School days, school days, Good old golden rule days; Reading, ’riting and ’rithmatic, Taught to the tune of a hickory stick. ” The good ole Lexington High School days began in 1894 with an enrollment of 22 students. Ten years later the high school was moved to the old Ann Smith Acad- emy building for a nominal rent. A short time later, the building was declared unsafe due to faulty foundations. A school bond issued for $20,000 was passed by the citi- zens of Lexington to erect a new building. The Ann Smith Board of Trustees donated the lot where the Ann Smith building stood. There was much discussion about tearing down the Ann Smith building be- cause the citizens had a senti- mental attachment for it. The newspapers were flooded with pro and con arguments. The State Legislature passed an “Act of Assembly” that gave the Ann Smith Board of Trustees the authority to dispose of the building. A new building was erected and classes began in 1909. The increas- ing student body at Lexington High made extra space essential. To fulfill the dreams for the best possible education a high school student could ever hope for, a new high school was built in 1926 along Woods Creek. It served as Lexing- ton High School until 1960 when it became Waddell Elementary. By 1960, the consistantly expanding student enrollment had led to the erection of the present day fa- cilities. The students for this new school were drawn from the city and the county districts of Kerrs Creek and Buffalo. Effinger High School became an elementary and its students joined the LHS ranks at this time also. In 1965 Lylburn Downing High School students further increased the Lexington High School Student body. The high school now includes grades 8-12. The Mobile Units behind the school were added in the late 60’s to take care of the overflow of students. Lexington High School is governed by the Joint Committee for Control of LHS which is made up of members from both the city and Rockbridge County school boards. The enrollment is approx- imately 900 which puts LHS in the double A class rating under Virginia High School League Rules. Rockbridge County was formed in 1778. The county seat was named Lexington after the famous battle in Lexington, Mass- achusetts. This area lays claim to at least two Virginia governors, Cyrus McCormick, the resting place of Lee, Stonewall Jackson’s home, Michael Miley, Marshall Library, Virginia Military Insti- tute, the nation’s first state mili- tary college and Washington and Lee University ( 1 749). 24 History Essay

Page 30 text:

The Senior offensive team block the Junior ' s defensive power play in graceful motion. Anxious to join in the action on the field, Donna Fix and Jean Tardy watch the game while warming the bench. victory for juniors 26 Chrono