The following history of Jones Valley High School is based on an article in the Birmingham News, dated February 14, 1962 and is credited to Mr. Herman W King, assistant principal of Shades Valley High School. Mr. King wrote the histories of a number of high schools for his master’s degree thesis.

      Jones Valley High School was destroyed by fire on November11, 1961. A 19-year-old student was jailed on an arson charge in connection with the fire.

      Mr. A. E. Driggers, principal from 1942 to 1972, headed the drive to rebuild the school

     Within 10 weeks, over $200,000 was raised. Ground was broken to rebuild on October 7, 1962. The new school was dedicated on October 6, 1963. At the dedication Steve Thompson, a Jones Valley student, presented a flag he designed for his school. A white crest on a gold background and black border, are features of the flag design. Above the crest are the Latin words: Labor omnia vincit" Labor overcomes all difficulties. Inside the crest is a Brownie, symbolizing the school spirit; the date: "Nov. 11, 1961," archways, and 9963" representing the dedication of the new school, and a blue star inscribed with "1884" symbolizing when the first school opened on the Jones Valley site. The flag was designed to fly beneath the American flag in front of the school.

     In 1988 Jones Valley ceased to be a high school and became a middle school.

     The history of public education in the Powderly community dates to the year 1884 when the people of Jones Valley, living in the communities near Powderly, recognized a need for an education system for their children. To provide this educational system, these citizens planned and built the Sunnyside Academy at Powderly. The building was 40 by 60 feet and accommodated 70 pupils. A proverbial stage was located in the room for the teacher and a school bell was housed in a tower on the roof.

     The territory served by the school embraced an area of 95 square miles. Students came from Cleveland Station, lshkooda, Lipscomb, Oxmoor, Sandusky, and Vinesville. The tuition ranged from $2 to $4 per month. The curriculum included the Blue-Back Speller, McGuffey’s Reader, Rays Arithmetic, Maw’s Geography, Latin and algebra texts. Spelling matches and speeches were held on alternate Fridays.

     The first teacher to serve the school was J. F. McLaughlin, a witty Scotsman.

     Following Mr.McLaughlin were Sally and Molly Miles. J.E. Strickland and Miss Maude Gartiner came later, followed by Professor Johnson, who served as principal for a number of years.

     The student body at the school increased as a result of better transportation facilities. With the large increase in the number of pupils. an annex was added, which was heated by a coal stove.

     B. H. Davidson taught at the Sunnyside School for four years. He was followed by Professor Geisler, who, with his wife, later taught at Jones Valley for a number of years.

     When the public school system was founded in Jefferson County, the school became known as the Powderly Elementary School. The desks for the school were constructed out of Blue Hen Match boxes with four legs attached. The water supply came from a well located on the school’s porch. Each room had a water bucket with a gourd dipper. The pupils drank from the bucket using the same dipper.

     The building was destroyed by fire in 1918 and was replaced with an elementary and a high school building. The five-acre site for the new buildings was purchased for $7,000 using district funds from the Jefferson County Board of Education.

     The Jones Valley High School and Elementary School, with 23 rooms and constructed of brick material had a seating capacity of 850 pupils. The total cost for both buildings was $189,496. The high school building contained an auditorium and a lunchroom was located in the main building. The buildings’ electric lights and water were furnished by the Birmingham Water Works.

     Jones Valley High School was formally opened in the fall of 1921, with Charles E.

     Harrison serving as the first principal. The first faculty included Katherine Allen, Willene Baker, Thelma Cams, Ruth Chappell, Mary Griggs, Mary Mason, and Thompson Vann.

     The first graduating class received their diplomas in the spring of 1922, and this class numbered nine.

     In the first few weeks of the history of Jones Valley High School, these clubs were begun:

     Betsy Ross, Robert E. Lee, Philokalean, and Wilson Literary Societies.

     The first football game was played in an open field, the teams dressed in overall uniforms. Under the direction of Thompson Vann, who served as coach, a boys’ baseball team and a girls’ basketball team were organized.

     In the spring of 1922, the first yearbook, The Oracle, was published. In 1931 publication was suspended because of the depression and the war and did not resume until 1946.  In 1946 the name of the yearbook was changed to The Brownie.

     The Jones Valley High School Hi-Y Club published a school newspaper called the Brownie Scrip, the first edition appearing in January 1936. This paper was published bi-monthly during the scholastic year selling for five cents a copy.

     According to Thelma Cams, the school has published a newspaper called Black and Gold. However, because of the expense of publication, the paper began to be mimeographed at the school.

     In the fall of 1922, Professor C. W. Phillips succeeded Mr. Harrison as principal. He served the school for 20 years. Under his principalship the school outgrew its plan of one main building to 13 new rooms in the four annexes, which had to be added to care for the increased enrollment.

     According to C. W. Phillips, the high school needed to utilize the lunchroom space in 1932 because of the increase in enrollment at the school. He went before the Jefferson County Board of Education and made a proposal that the Board furnish him the sum of $1,250 for the construction of a new lunchroom 30 by 60 feet. This was during the height of the depression, but they agreed to his proposal.

     Since he was to serve as the architect, Phillips went to the sawmill in order to get the best prices. Miller Brothers Construction Co., which had constructed Jones Valley High School, agreed to give a lock and key job for the labor at a cost of only $265, in order to provide employment for their employees who needed bread for their families.

     The total cost of the lunchroom was $1,257 but Professor Phillips could not recall who paid the seven dollars. The lunchroom had two lines for service and through the efficient management of the lunchroom manager, Mrs. A. R. Goodwin, it was adequately equipped.

     Pupils attending Jones Valley High School for a number of years provided their own transportation. A few years later, the Jefferson County Board of Education provided the principal with I street car tickets for pupils who were entitled to transportation. During the later years three Jefferson County School buses provided transportation for pupils who were entitled to transportation at public expense.

     The first president of the School improvement Association at Jones Valley for the 1921-1922 term was Mrs. Ed Smith. This association was later called the Parent-Teacher Association (PTA), an organization which has aided the progress of Jones Valley High School by raising money to improve the interior of the buildings, to add play equipment, to buy new books for the library, and to purchase other needed facilities, During the 1920s and 1930s the programs given by the PTA, under the direction of the late Miss Annie Jones, were semi-annual events in which most of the children participated. The receipts from these musicals and the May Day festivals added thousands of dollars to the budget of the organization through the years.

     The first library at Jones Valley High School was located in the principal’s office. The librarian taught Latin and served as registrar. This library had a small collection of books and a set of encyclopedias. Magazines were placed in the auditorium for the use of the study hall students. The second location of the library is now the teacher’s lounge, the third location is now the registrar’s office, and the fourth location of the library in what is presently the commercial room.

 In order to provide a permanent athletic field for the high school, the Principal, C.W. Phillips, convinced the Jefferson County Board of Education that additional land should be purchased. The school was using some land across the road from the school as a playground and it appeared that this property would be divided into lots and sold. On September 24, 1928, a five-acre site was purchased across the road from the school to be used as a playground. The Jefferson County Board of Education purchased the land from the Jones Valley Land Company for $20,000.

     According to Mr. Phillips, the Works Progress Administration helped to grade the football field. Also, the school employed some labor and finally Jones Valley High School completed their football field. The football team is called the "Brownies," and Mr. Phillips believes the team acquired its name from playing on ground that leaves the player’s uniforms colored with a brown ore stain. During the years, the football field was lighted and bleachers built to accommodate spectators. The development of athletic activities was expanded; track and tennis teams were organized, but baseball and football remained the most important.

     A.E. Driggers served as assistant principal from 1940 to 1942. In September 1942, he succeeded Mr. Phillips as principal and took over all duties of both schools. A 12-room brick building was added to care for the elementary pupils.

     In 1951 the County Board of Education constructed a new library room. During the depression, the Works Progress Administration built a charging desk for the library. The Southern Association of Secondary Schools and Colleges approved this library.

     On January 1, 1953, Jones Valley High School joined the Birmingham City School System and elected to continue on the six—three—three plan. Pupils were transported in Jefferson County school buses from Lipscomb, Shannon, Midfield, and Wilkes.     

     The extra-curricular activities developed through the years include the Science Club, YTeen Clubs, Junior Honor Society, V-Club, B-Club, Jr. Civitans, Girls Sports Club, Future Teachers of America, Library Club, Monitors Club, Senior Hi-Y, Choral Club, Speech Club, Sportsmanship Club, and Red Cross Club. The National Honor Society was organized in 1927, with a charter membership of six.

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