It was the first public high school established by a county school district in Alabama with funds from the county and the state government. W.S. Neal, the superintendent of the Escambia County school system, had suggested the idea circa 1896. He later lost a subsequent election for his post, with the high school proposal being a campaign issue. William Carney funded the high school despite Neal's election loss. A building for the high school opened in 1909.[1]
On March 2, 1925, all but seven voters voted participating in a bond election voted in favor of building a new Escambia County High for $40,000.[2]