The original Clinch School served students from first through tenth grades and was built to replace the Shiloh Church School.  Funding to build the school came from the Methodist Church and Hawkins County.  Students finished high school after tenth grade by going to Rogersville High School, Granger County High School or Hancock County High School.  Some students boarded with families near the school they attended, while many traveled daily across Clinch Mountain on rough, curvy and dangerous roads to finish high school.

A fatal traffic accident involving students from the Eidson Community on the treacherous
mountain road caused parents and the community to rally support for a high school in
Eidson.  As a result Clinch High School was built as a W. P. A. project during the
presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Clinch High School opened in 1938 with the original part used to teach agriculture.  The
school gymnasium was added to the school during the 1949-50 school year and a
cafeteria was added in 1957.  The gym was one of the first public buildings in Hawkins
County to be totally funded by a sales tax.

Clinch School now has 14 classrooms, a computer lab, library, resource room, auditorium, stage, and office.  Through the
years we have added five mobile units, and the agriculture classrooms were converted to regular classrooms because we no
longer offer agricultural classes.  Our heating source was changed from coal to oil delivering heat to classrooms as steam
through existing radiators.  Individual classrooms have air conditioners, and the mobile units have central heat and air. 

In 2004 the school was improved by adding new flooring to the gymnasium, new boys' and girls' dressing rooms, a
concession stand and new restrooms in the main building.  Our cafeteria was upgraded also and a new walk-in freezer and
refrigerator was installed.

New School Under Construction 2009 

Clinch School was scheduled for total renovation of existing classrooms, the entire building, and building additional classrooms to replace the mobile units as a part of the Phase III building project of the Hawkins County Board of Education.  Due to the projected cost of approximately five million dollars for renovation to our school, the Board of Education voted to build a new school instead. 

The new school building, located a little over a mile down the road from the original location, was constructed during 2009.  The building was completed in time to begin the 2010-2011 school year. 

 

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