History of Clear Run High School
The Sampson County Board of Education under the auspices of the North Carolina State Board of Education and local interested persons found a suitable site to serve the southeastern area of the Sampson County Black population. This site would consolidate the two existing small high schools, one located in Garland, known as the Garland Colored High School, and the other located in Harrells, known as Bland High School into a larger, more comprehensive high school..
There was much opposition to the idea of a central high school from both the Garland and Bland communities. They organized pressure groups in an effort to influence the Board of Education to build an adequate high school in each area, to no avail.
The local Board of Education made the final decision to consolidate the schools and a site was purchased at the crossroad of State Road 411 and County Road 1125. This site was an equal distance from Garland and Bland schools. The site was comprised of 25 acres and was purchased on November 29, 1956 from Mildred Fleming Powell and husband, H. Emmett Powell.
In September 1957 Clear Run High School opened with students from Garland and Bland. The enrollment was approximately 266 with ten teachers and principal, Mr. F. R. Jones. There were 37 students in the first graduating class in May 1958. Each year the enrollment increased and so did the staff. The original ten teachers including the principal are as follows:
Mr. F. R. Jones, Principal Miss Myrtle Smith
Mrs. Mary C. DeVane Mrs. P. S. White
Mr. Edward W. Gray Miss C. E. Fennel
Mrs. Martha Faison Mrs. Sallie Powell
Mr. Tony Cunningham Ms. Mable Carter
Mr. F.R. Jones, the first principal, served four terms. The principals that followed him and their terms were: Mr. R. W. Johnson one term; Mr. Calvin E. Johnson, one term; Mr. Curtis E. Torrey, three terms. Mr. George W. Tyler was the last principal to serve at Clear Run as a high school, with the last graduating class in 1969.
In 1969, federal and state law required the complete integration of all schools. Thus Dear Ole Clear Run High School was forever changed, with the opening of Union High School to serve the students from Garland and Bland. It was converted to a middle school and remained so until the late 1980’s when the doors were permanently closed.
The site was idle and abandoned until August 18, 1993 when the Sampson County Board of Education declared the site unnecessary for public use and sold the property to the Goldsboro District Development Corporation. The property was again sold on April 2, 2001 to Beatrice H. Brown. On November 2, 2006, the property was transferred to the Cape Fear Conference AME Zion Church.
The Sampson County Board of Education under the auspices of the North Carolina State Board of Education and local interested persons found a suitable site to serve the southeastern area of the Sampson County Black population. This site would consolidate the two existing small high schools, one located in Garland, known as the Garland Colored High School, and the other located in Harrells, known as Bland High School into a larger, more comprehensive high school..
There was much opposition to the idea of a central high school from both the Garland and Bland communities. They organized pressure groups in an effort to influence the Board of Education to build an adequate high school in each area, to no avail.
The local Board of Education made the final decision to consolidate the schools and a site was purchased at the crossroad of State Road 411 and County Road 1125. This site was an equal distance from Garland and Bland schools. The site was comprised of 25 acres and was purchased on November 29, 1956 from Mildred Fleming Powell and husband, H. Emmett Powell.
In September 1957 Clear Run High School opened with students from Garland and Bland. The enrollment was approximately 266 with ten teachers and principal, Mr. F. R. Jones. There were 37 students in the first graduating class in May 1958. Each year the enrollment increased and so did the staff. The original ten teachers including the principal are as follows:
Mr. F. R. Jones, Principal Miss Myrtle Smith
Mrs. Mary C. DeVane Mrs. P. S. White
Mr. Edward W. Gray Miss C. E. Fennel
Mrs. Martha Faison Mrs. Sallie Powell
Mr. Tony Cunningham Ms. Mable Carter
Mr. F.R. Jones, the first principal, served four terms. The principals that followed him and their terms were: Mr. R. W. Johnson one term; Mr. Calvin E. Johnson, one term; Mr. Curtis E. Torrey, three terms. Mr. George W. Tyler was the last principal to serve at Clear Run as a high school, with the last graduating class in 1969.
In 1969, federal and state law required the complete integration of all schools. Thus Dear Ole Clear Run High School was forever changed, with the opening of Union High School to serve the students from Garland and Bland. It was converted to a middle school and remained so until the late 1980’s when the doors were permanently closed.
The site was idle and abandoned until August 18, 1993 when the Sampson County Board of Education declared the site unnecessary for public use and sold the property to the Goldsboro District Development Corporation. The property was again sold on April 2, 2001 to Beatrice H. Brown. On November 2, 2006, the property was transferred to the Cape Fear Conference AME Zion Church.
