Began in September of 1948 as a vocational school for African-Americans. Dr. Clarence M. Dannelly, then superintendent of Montgomery Public Schools, held a ground breaking ceremony on Fairview Avenue on April 13, 1948. It was an informal ceremony attended by representatives of the Board of Education and the contractors from Hodgson Contracting Co. The land was secured from the federal government and the funds were provided by the state.
