Merrill High School (Arkansas)
| Merrill High School | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
| , | |
| Information | |
| Former name | Merrill Public School Merrill Institute |
| Type | Public |
| Nickname | Pirates |
Merrill High School was a public secondary school in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, one of four high schools that served black students until the public schools were integrated in 1971.
History
The school was named for Joseph Merrill, a philanthropist from New Hampshire. In 1886 Merrill sold a two-story house and some adjoining land to the Pine Bluff School District, and donated money to African-Americans to remodel the house into a five room school. Part of the school later burned, and was restored by the Works Progress Administration in 1939.[1]
Athletics
Merrill won back-to-back National Championships in Lamar Allen's freshman year of 1932 and again in 1933.[2]
Notable people
- Lamar "Buddy" Allen, baseball player, football player, coach[2]
- Joseph Carter Corbin, Educator, first principal of the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff from 1875-1902, after he was fired in 1902 he became principal of Merrill[3]
- Chris Mercer, the first African-American deputy state prosecutor in the South, one of the "six pioneers" who integrated the University of Arkansas Law School.[4]
- Cleo Miller, professional football player[5]
- Raye Montague, US Navy engineer, created first computer generated draft of a naval ship[6]
References
- ^ "Joseph Merrill". Retrieved 17 November 2018.
- ^ a b "Arkansas's "White" Newspaper Chose All-Star Teams for State's All-Black Schools". Retrieved 17 November 2018.
- ^ "Joseph Carter Corbin". Retrieved 17 November 2018.
- ^ "University of Arkansas Mourns Death of Civil Rights Activist Christopher Mercer". 26 November 2012. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
- ^ https://www.statscrew.com/football/stats/p-millecle001
- ^ "Raye Jean Jordan Montague". Retrieved 17 November 2018.