School History
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Service for Seventy Years
(From the 1972 Rice Shock Yearbook)
Charlton-Pollard High School has had formal high school education for the Black community for seventy years. Charlton-Pollard has progressed immensely.
Our school has sent forth people into all walks of life, contributing where theycould to help make our world a beautiful one. May our school continue to progress and to aid the students and a progressing community. May many more be able to say, truly Charlton-Pollard High School has contributed seventy years of unqualified service to the community.
C-P Celebrates Diamond Jubilee
The first graduating class was in 1901 with two graduates, T. L. Anderson, a railway postal clerk who lived in Texarkana, Texas, and the late George W. Douglas, who retired as a letter carrier in Beaumont. The school was organized in 1874. An ex-slave, Charles Charlton, came from Tyler County to Jefferson County in the early 1870's. Seeing that Negroes needed a public school, Mr. Charlton along with Woodson Pipkin set about the task of establishing one.
Under MR. Charlton's leadership a school for Negroes was organized in 1894, and was taught in the Live Oak Baptist Church, formerly on what is known as Neches Street. He interested other citizens of his race, and with their aid secured a site, constructed a school building and organized the Oak Ridge School, now known as Pipkin School.
Excerpts from a letter written on October 28, 1926, by A. J. Criner to T. T. Pollard states that in the fall of 1881, there were 90 pupils in the school held in Live Oak Baptist Church. The principal was John H. Farris; A. C. Pricely was the assistant principal, and the teachers were Miss Laura Gainer and Rufus Fletcher.
About 1883 the city took charge and 1902, two large frame buildings were erected, one in the north end with Mr. T. J. Charlton as principal, and the other in the south end with Mr. Pollard as principal. A high school organized in 1900 was located in a large frame building constructed for this purpose in the 1800 block of Pine. This arrangement gave the Negroes three schools and another principal, Mr. I. J. Gilder.
The frame building erected in the south end was destroyed by fire in 1916. By 1925 the first brick structure for Negroes had been built at a cost of $101,000 on Grant and Poplar Streets. This new school was Charlton-Pollard High School. Mr. Pollard became the supervisor of all the Negro schools, and Mr. T. J. Charlton, Sr. became Charlton-Pollard's first principal. He served until his death in 1934.
Mr. R. T. Tatum became the second principal and he served until his death in November, 1947. Dr. H. C. Johnson succeeded Mr. Tatum in 1947 and he was principal until he resigned to accept a position as Professor of Education in Nashville, Tennessee. Mr. E. P. Pierre was elected principal in August, 1965. He came to Beaumont from Texarkana where he had had experience as administrative principal, elementary school principal, and supervising principal.
Mr. F. R. Pierson, CPHS football coach, was appointed assistant principal in 1947 and served in this position until 1958 when he was elected principal of Dunbar Junior High School. Mr. H. E. Brown succeeded Mr. Pierson and maintained this position until he was appointed principal of Washington Elementary. Mr. R. A. Cook succeeded Mr. Brown and served until he was appointed principal of Dunbar Junior High. Mr. Howard Mills was named assistant principal in July. 1970.
Charlton-Pollard moved into its present building in September, 1950. The main building houses seventeen classrooms, administrative offices, clinic, library, cafeteria, homemaking and cosmetology practice areas, business department, and French and Spanish laboratories. Eight classrooms are housed in portable buildings. There are also the Vocational Education building, which houses the Distributive Education, Industrial Cooperative Training, Vocational Office Education, and Home Economics Cooperative Education departments; the bandroom and clubhouse. The two counselors, Mr. Maurice Boudoin and Miss Edna Joseph have their offices in a portable building near the main entrance of the building.
In 70 years Charlton-Pollard has made great strides, and we intend to keep on keeping on.