L.C.H.S. Office Complex

History of 
Lauderdale County High School 

Prepared by Frieda Belew
Revised by Pam Tanner and Kimberly Jones

     In the summer of 1907 the Alabama State Legislature passed an act providing for a high school in each county, provided the people of the county construct a building, furnish the equipment and provide five acres of land to the state within a year.  At this time thirty-one schools were established, and Rogersville was chosen as the site for the Lauderdale County High School.  By virtue of being first, it has proudly worn the county's name.
     Lauderdale County High School was located at Rogersville in 1912 during the administration of General Emmit O'Neal.  For several years prior to this time, a high school had existed at Rogersville but was not accredited.
     Interest in public education in the Rogersville community dates back to the early 1800's.  The oldest school of which there is a record was started by a Mrs. Joshua James, Jr., daughter-in-law of one of the first Baptist preachers in the community.  The daughter of Mr. James taught in this school from 1845 to 1866,  The school was located on Lambs Ferry Road.  It was a one room log building.  The school term was three months, and the teacher's salary was $23.00 a month.
     From this humble beginning, the school system grew.  At first the high school was housed in a two-story building.  This building was destroyed by fire in 1926 and was replaced by a modern one-story brick building at a cost of $30,000, of which $17,000 was donated by the community     The first graduating class in 1913 consisted of three members.  In 1931 there were thirty-four members; by 1949 there were sixty-three graduates.  Enrollment peaked in the 1970's with senior classes numbering near or over 100 students.  
     The elementary building was destroyed by fire in 1959 and was replaced by a modern structure.  The present high school building was built in 1958. 
     The present campus has approximately fifty-two acres.  It consists of an elementary building, a junior high building, a high school building, a cafeteria, bandroom, and a gym. The newest addition was completed in 2001 and is an Office/Library Media Center Complex and also houses two classrooms.     
     The principals of Lauderdale County High School since its establishment have been as follows:  W.L Davis 1912-15, Earl Hodson 1915-18, L.C. Tate 1918-19, E.R. Stroker 1919-22, L.L. Leftwitch 1922-25, M.C. Sandlin 1925-35, J.R. Roberson 1935, C.P. Nelson 1935-36, J.L. Couch 1936-41, J.L. Clay 1941-56, W.C. Hannah 1956-66, E.F. Cagle 1966-77, Gerald Perry 1977-78,  James Cooper Johnson 1978-1993,  Kenneth Ray Hester, 1993-2001, and Dr. Donna Henry 2001-2002.   At the present time Lauderdale County High School is headed by Mr. Jay Stejskal, Principal; Mr. Eric Cornelius, Assistant Principal; and Mrs. Anita Olbon, Assistant Principal. 
     The athletic program at LCHS has always been exceptional.  The school has earned 10 state championships ... one in football (1974), one in track (1979), and eight in girls basketball (1987, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1998, 2002, 2003, and 2006).  Records for the University of North Alabama indicate that the school then known as Florence Normal College once played Lauderdale County High School in the early part of the century, and LCHS won over the college team.  In the 1940's during World War II, many young men were fighting, so the school played six-man football.  
      Lauderdale County High School has had one student in its history to score a perfect 36 on the American College Test (ACT).  That student was Kerri Ezell from the Class of 1996.  She is also the only student from the Lauderdale County system to attain a perfect score.  Kerri graduated from Mississippi State University with a 4.0 grade point and was named a Goldwater Scholar. 
     Our Drama Club received the following awards at the State Thespian Festival at Pelham High School in Birmingham on February 25, 2007:   1st place for GROUP PANTOMIME - Andrew Maxwell, Courtney Tully, and Andrew Crawford;  1st place for LIGHTING DESIGN - Courtney Workman; and  3rd place for PLAYWRIGHTING:  Kasmine Roach.