The histories of the DuPont schools all begin at the same point, proceed for several decades along the same path, and have only gone their separate ways in recent years. All were named for the DuPont Company which has been the major industry in the Community.

DuPont Elementary

The history of DuPont Elementary School is unique in many ways. This school had its origin in a one-room log structure erected in 1790 by some of the first settlers of this area. It was located near the present site of the DuPont Powerhouse. This structure served as a school on weekdays and as a church on Sundays. In 1860 separate buildings were erected near the present filter plant. The one-room school was then located on the west side of the little brick chapel and was used until 1918. This site was chosen because of a nearby spring which furnished water for the school and the chapel.

Then came World War I, with seventy-five thousand people trodding the miles of board walks in this industrial city known then as Jacksonville. The government was faced with the problem of providing schools for the children of its many workers. To meet this need, the government planned to build four civic centers, each with twenty-six rooms. However, the war ended before these plans could materialize. As a result, only one of these schools was built. It occupied a site near the present Church of Christ. No school bell ever sounded there, however, for this school was destroyed by fire just before its opening date. It burned the night after the selective service records were supposed to have been moved there and therefore, this fire was considered sabotage. This loss amounted to more than $100,000.00.

Just ten days after the loss of the building, a new school was ready to open at Seventeenth Street and Hadley Avenue where the present ball park is located. The completion of this building, almost before the smoke had cleared away from its predecessor, was another construction feat. Mason and Hangar Construction Company put one thousand men to work on it. Many others volunteered, and a dozen sawmills were set up around it to speed the work. This school was completed without an accident of any kind or an injury to any person. There were thirty-two classrooms with accommodations and equipment for one thousand pupils, and a combination gym and auditorium which covered an acre of floor space. The building was “E” shaped, and each room had an exit to the schoolyard. It opened December 2, 1918, with twenty regular teachers, three special instructors, and an enrollment of over four hundred. Later, the enrollment necessitated increasing the teaching staff to thirty-two. All books were furnished by the federal government, and the school was under government regulation being supervised by the Ordinance Department. An appeal for the best teachers in the United States was sent out to cities with a population of over a hundred thousand. Fifty percent of the teachers were secured from the Nashville vicinity, and the remainder selected from all over the United States. Dormitories were erected for the single teachers, and houses furnished for the married ones. All teachers were required to have a high school certificate and one year of successful teaching experience. Instructions began with a kindergarten for four and five-year olds. Mr. C.E. Dryden of Hagerstown, Maryland, served as the first superintendent.

The Ordinance Department operated the school again in 1919-1920 with Miss Aleda Nelson as principal. The high school students were sent by train to Central High School, which was then temporarily located at the State Fair Grounds in Nashville. The following year Major Ransom, the local commanding officer designated by the government, directed the school with A. L. Moncrief as principal.

When the Nashville Industrial Corporation bought the powder plant from the government in 1920, they continued to operate the school under the same plan as the government with one exception. A board composed of leading citizens appointed by the corporation helped to guide the policies of the school. High school students were transported to Goodlettsville. John L. Craig was superintendent, and Frank Dunn was principal. Mr. Dunn was succeeded by Mrs. B. W. Carson who continued as principal until 1923, soon after the DuPont Company purchased the property.

In 1926 Davidson County erected a two-story brick building with thirty-six classrooms on Hadley Avenue, next door to the Church of Christ, at a cost of $120,000.00. By this time the enrollment numbered eight hundred ninety-eight with twenty teachers. In 1930 E.W. Hudgens became principal and served until 1937 when he was succeeded by W.M. Tate.

DuPont High School

The elementary school grew until it became necessary to expand the available facilities. In 1926 a two-year high school was started jointly with the elementary department under S.H. Binkley’s supervision with three teachers and sixty-three pupils. A third year was added in 1927 and a senior year in 1928. These two departments remained under the same supervision until 1930 when the DuPont High School was built at 2001 Hadley Avenue at a cost of $47,500.00. It was designed along Tudor lines with a sandfaced brick exterior and Bedford stone trimmings. The new school opened with seven teachers and one hundred eighty-one students under the principalship of C.P. Ferguson. In 1936 facilities were expanded under the Works Program Administration at a cost of $23,700.00 including a lighted football field, the first in the county for night games. A $40,000.00 gym was added in 1940. The school enrollment increased and alterations amounting to $200,000.00 were made in 1949-1951. In 1952 it had an enrollment of five hundred fifty-one students and twenty-one teachers. Over a twenty-year period (1929-1948) 36.55 percent of the graduates attended college. DuPont provided summertime jobs for many high school graduates who planned to attend college. Others could “co-op” whereby they worked one quarter and attended school the next quarter.

The school not only stressed scholastic achievement but provided adequate extra-curricular activities. It sponsored such clubs as Beta, Math, Forensic, Press, Science, Shutter Bugs, Distributive Education, Home Economics, Bowling, Glee Club, Gregg Artist, Secretarial, Key, and Future Teachers of America. As for sports, one could choose football, basketball, tennis, golf, baseball, rifle, band or cheerleading.

In the fall of 1967 DuPont became a senior high school with grades ten through twelve. Disaster struck on November 6, 1967, when the school was completely destroyed by fire. School continued on a split shift schedule at DuPont Junior High School until March 21, 1968, when that building was destroyed by fire. Classes resumed at Madison High School on a similar split shift basis for the remainder of the year. The same schedule was followed the next year.

DuPont Senior High

In the fall of 1969, a senior high school, retaining the DuPont name, was completed at 360 Tyler Drive in Hermitage. The building was designed to encourage innovations in curriculum and instruction. Mr. James Bridgeman was the first principal assigned to the new building. Other principals at DuPont High in its former location were C.P. Ferguson, Ronald Brinkley, Raymond Huffman, and Buford Jewell.

Both the school and the community were stunned by the sudden death of Mr. Jewell on November 14, 1973. In recognition of his service to DuPont High and the community, the Board of Education named the new stadium in his honor. A scholarship fund was established by Mr. Jewell’s family at the time of his death; the first award was made at the graduation exercises in 1974. Mr. Albert Williams was subsequently named principal.

DuPont High School had one of the first Future Teacher Clubs in the system. The DuPont Student Council was selected as the Outstanding Student Council of the state in 1973-74. One of the illustrious graduates of DuPont High School is James Kirby, former dean of the law school at Ohio State University and later Vice President of New York University. James Reston of the New York Times referred to Mr. Kirby as one of the country’s outstanding authorities in constitutional law.

In 1985 DuPont, with the help of its partner, Donelson Hospital, in Project PENCIL, raised over $1,000.00 for restoration of the Statue of Liberty.

Classes were first integrated in the early 70s, but there was probably never more than twenty-five to thirty African-American students enrolled in DuPont High School at any one time because it was a community school with no “busing.” These students became student body leaders, club officers, recipients of academic honors and achieved in sports and other extra-curricular activities. In 1986, the last year of DuPont’s existence as a senior high school, one of these students was president of the student body.

Over the years DuPont’s curriculum was diverse and provided numerous courses in order to meet its students’ needs. Some of these were Advance Placement Courses in English, History, Science, and Math as well as Band, Industrial Arts, Printing, Forensics, Drama, Business, Foreign Languages, Home Economics, Electronics, Photography and others. A student newspaper, The Crimson Chronicle, was published along with the school annual, Leaves of Hickory.

There was a well-below average turnover in the staff at DuPont. Many teachers spent the bulk of their careers at this school. Some of these long-time teachers included Lena Cowgill (English and Literature), Gladys Deakins (Math), Jane Jackson (Business), Ruby Major (Home Economics), Steve Myatt (Science), Elizabeth Osborne (Latin and Spanish), Caroline Perry (History), Corinne Wright (Social Studies) and Juanita McCauley, a DuPont alumna who served thirty-six years as school secretary.

DuPont High had numerous individual and team champions in various sports as its trophies will indicate. The boys’ and girls’ basketball teams have been especially successful in winning district and regional honors. Its teams registered the top mark in the Nashville Interscholastic League in 1952 with ninety-two victories against only twelve losses. The 1952-53 boys’ team, boasting one of the highest scoring records in the state, won the state championship in Johnson City on March 14, 1953. In 1936, 1958, and again in 1960 the boys’ and girls’ basketball teams won the Nashville Interscholastic League championships. This was the third consecutive title for the Lady Bulldogs.

At the end of the 1985-86 school year, DuPont Senior High was scheduled to close permanently due to its failure to meet the court-ordered required quota of African-American students. This school had prided itself on academic school foremost, but with courses added which were designed to help average and below-average learners achieve as well. It had long provided a good education for any interested student, regardless of color or nationality. It was a sad day for the community when it closed June 10, 1986.

Principals at DuPont High were S. H. Binkley (1928-30), C. P. Ferguson (1930-47), Ronald Brinkley (1947-49), Jimmy Edwards (1949-52), Raymond Huffman (1952-63), Buford Jewell (1963-68 and 1971-73), James Bridgeman (1968-71), Nealon Agee and Hugh Price (1973-74), Albert Williams (1974-83) and Dr. Jerry Mack Hargis (1983-86).

S. H. Binkley	C. P. Ferguson	Ronald Brinkley	Jimmy Edwards	Raymond Huffman	Buford Jewell	James Bridgeman	Albert Williams	Dr. Jerry Mack Hargis