The Current Older School built in 1938

Tuscumbia High School Freshman - 1931
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Tuscumbia High School Girls Basketball Team - 1932
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TUSCUMBIA SCHOOLS

The following sketch of schools at Tuscumbia was written by T. C. Wright, Superintendent of the Tuscumbia Schools in the mid 1930s:

Tuscumbia has had four school buildings. The first was a log house with a stone fireplace and puncheon floors. It was purchased by the school district in 1857 from Champ Smith and Daniel Cummings, these two men having built the structure a few years before. The purchase price for building and grounds was $112.00. It was located a short distance south of the property now owned by Monroe Roberts in the west part of town.

The second structure was built of home-made brick in the early seventies. It stood on what is now the school playground just south of the building now in use. The second building had only one large room originally, but later a partition divided it into two rooms.

The Third School

The third school was a wooden structure built in 1895 just a few feet west of the old brick building. It was about 50 feet square, containing two rooms on the first floor and one large room on the second story. The brick building in use at the present time was constructed in 1926, the total cost being about $20,000. The cost would have been considerably more had it not been for the fact that it was built by local contractors. These were C. B. Wright, manager of the Anchor Milling Company, and D. F. Thomson, carpenter. The $20,000 exceeds by approximately 25% the limit the district could have bonded itself for at that time, so the building was also made possible only by means of a surplus representing savings of several years, by means of funds raised by community picnics, and by means of private gifts from patrons of the district. There was only one donation that could be considered as having come from outside the community. This was a donation of $200.00 from Mrs. Edith R. Beckner of Tuscumbia, Missouri, and Corpus Christi, Texas. This building has the first indoor gymnasium ever built in the county. Besides study hall for high school, superintendent's office, cloak rooms, gymnasium-auditorium, it has six class rooms.

Tuscumbia Class

Since the building of the wooden structure in 1895 and since which date there have always been three or more teachers, the heads (styled principal until 1919 and superintendent since then) of the system for the various years have been as follows: Charles O. Jenkins, 18951896; Selden R. Hoover, 1896-1899; T. E. Vaughan, 1899-1900; J. F. Johnston, 1900-1901; Ora F. Glass, 1901-1902; J. F. Johnston, 1902-1903; T. E. Vaughan, 1903-1907; T. E. Jones, 1907-1908; James Messersmith, 1908-1909; Tennyson C. Wright, 1909-1910; H. M. Atwell, 1910-1911; Tennyson C. Wright, 1911-1914; Keith Jackson, 1914-1915; Tennyson C. Wright, 1915-1932; Miss Fern Barton, 19321933; Tennyson C. Wright, 1933-.

High school graduating exercises began to be held in the spring of 1904, at which time only two years of work were offered. The school was inspected and approved by the state department of education during the school year 1913-1914. Four years of approved work were first given during 1920-1921.

In 1913 Consolidated District Number 1 (Miller County) was formed around Tuscumbia as a center. This district was disorganized a few years later by mutual consent of all patrons, partly on account of the small amount of state aid given to consolidate districts at that time.

Tuscumbia Students

L-R: Back row: Arthur Beard, Hazel Burns, Myron Hickey, Vivian Hendricks, Bessie Mathews, Jean Beard, Ruby Flaugher, Edith Musick and Frank Newell Wright.
5th row: Irene Woody, Nathalie Hicks, Mildred Messersmith, Dean Smith, Lorraine Hawken, James Waddell, Leahetta McCommons, James Carol Burns, Rex Wyrick, Paul Smith and Leroy Snodgrass.
4th row: Ruby Klug, Selma Brown, Francis Thompson, Ruby Musick, Victor Burns, Irene Johnson, Melva Snodgrass, Theda Hickey, Amelia Williams, Andrew Hawken, Alfred Woody and Gardie Swanson.
3rd row: Alma Kallenbach, David Bear, Bessie Smith, Mable Crane, Mildred Stillwell, Opal Worthy, Icle McGowan, Pauline Hicks, Gerald Wright, Margie McGowan and Tennyson Clay Wright.
2nd row: Elsie Beard, Norma Brockman, Carl Hicks, Fern Brown, Susie Bear, Freda Crane, Oma Flaugher, Barbara McManess, Evelyn Batey, Olive Brown, Barbara Wright, Glen Small, Lorene Woody, Dorothy Flaugher and Lloyd Wright.
1st row: Eulane Brown, Irvin Snodgrass, Doril Wright, Barney Flaugher, Jesse Hawken, Harold Johnson, Bamber Wright and Billie Klug.

In 1919 there was added to the list of subjects offered in the high school the first department of vocational agriculture to be organized in the county. Vocational home economics was added in 1931, this making the second of two departments of this work in the county. The first high school bus, except regular passenger cars, ever run in the county conveyed pupils to and from Tuscumbia High School in 1932-1933. During this same year the number of teachers in the Tuscumbia schools was increased to seven, the largest number ever employed in the system. Three of these were grade teachers.

The total enrollment in the schools for the past two years has been about 200, between 90 and 100 of these being in high school.

Home Economics class, Tuscumbia, circa 1932-1933

L-R: Ruby Fogleman, Iris Livingston, Georgia Lee Helton, Leeta Hawkins, Eunice Groves, Martha Breeze or Phyllis Condra, Eileen Mayfield, Vivian Hendricks, Gladys Prock, Dorthy Mae Admire, Evelyn Stout, Lucy Abbott, Pauline Hicks. In this group were Iris Livingston, Eunice Groves, Gladys Prock, Evelyn Stout, Georgia Lee Helton, Luta Hawkins and Lucy Abbott were seniors. The rest were juniors.

This was the first Home Economics class Tuscumbia High School had and they made the dresses they are wearing Several of these girls lived south of the river and attended 9th and 10th grade at Elliott School. The teacher was Colleen Palm and she was from Chillicothe; her father was a dentist there. She isn't in the photograph.

Tuscumbia Schools Teachers - 1954-1956