1902–1906 · Documentary evidence
A record of attendance
A teacher record for Dennis D. Moore provides the earliest attendance evidence described in the original LHS archive. In its “Educational Training” section, the high-school row records attendance during 1902–1906 and identifies Lyons. The original account interprets this as attendance at Lyons High School.
This is evidence of a school attended beginning in 1902, rather than an independently verified date of founding. It also does not establish when the building in the circa-1908 photograph was constructed.
The account describes Moore as having 28 years of teaching experience, including two at the “Prime Ohoopee School,” where four teachers served a school open for 140 days that year. It associates the record with July 30, 1935. On the document itself, that date appears in the certificate-renewal information; the original page calls it a review date.
Circa 1908 · The early building
A school at the heart of its campus
The original account presents the substantial three-story school as evidence of the importance that Lyons’s founders placed on education. Robert Brown, Class of ’63, supplied the photograph reproduced above. The account dates it to around 1908 and explicitly says that the building’s construction date was not known.
An update dated April 8, 2001, records an interview with Teddy Kavakos, who had attended school in the building. He remembered it near the middle of the north end of the block occupied by the later high school, facing US 1. The account describes the photograph as looking southeast and places the old frontage a little west of the later auditorium.
According to that account, the building initially housed all grades. An elementary-school building was later added to its right; that building became the later Lyons High School remembered by alumni.
1930s–1955 · A changing campus
What former students remembered
The original account states that the top floor was removed in the 1930s. Miriam Smith, Class of ’59, remembered the building with a different roof and expressed uncertainty about why it had changed:
“... the picture of the school in 1908 is wonderful (and lovely). That building was still on campus when I was in 6, 7 and 8th grades, I think. The roof was different, must have had a fire or something. I remember a life sized skeleton standing in an upstairs science room. I don't remember ever having a class in the building, so that's why I think it must have been torn down before I entered high school in '55-'56. The building faced US 1 and the Varsity basketball team played basketball on a dirt court in front of it.”
Her suggestion of a possible fire is part of her recollection; it does not establish that a fire caused the earlier roof change.
Wayne Smith, Class of ’56, recalled that the original building was demolished in 1955 to make room for a library, chemistry lab, administrative offices, home economics, and other classrooms. The older account says those spaces later housed the Toombs County Board of Education offices. That description is retained as historical context, not a statement of their present use.
About these sources
This feature combines the archived LHSAA pages “LHS Beginnings” and “Original LHS.” The latter is signed by Larry Griggers, Webmaster, and includes the April 8, 2001 interview update. The photograph is credited to Robert Brown, Class of ’63; building recollections are attributed to Teddy Kavakos, Miriam Smith, and Wayne Smith. The original source pages do not establish every date or reconcile every detail.
The teacher record and photograph are presented without colorization. Documentary evidence, the original writer’s interpretation, and contributors’ memories have been distinguished rather than treated as interchangeable.