The early settlers of Hixson who came across the mountains of North Carolina around 1800 built according to priority; first, their homes; next, their houses of commerce; and then, their church. They were aware of the part education played in a democracy and set up their first school in a Methodist owned church, Barker’s Chapel. Located on Ely Road, the austere little log cabin was furnished with rough-hewn benches, a pot-bellied stove, a water bucket and dipper, and reportedly, several carefully selected and frequently used “hickories” (a vital education aid of the day). There was an enrollment of twenty students. A “subscription” tuition was paid by those parents who could pay. The more prosperous landowners and merchants made up the deficit for those who could not pay.

       As the student body grew, the school was moved from one log cabin to another—located wherever a citizen could spare the use of such a building. H. G. Hixson furnished the building for Clinch Hill School on Mill Road, about one quarter of a mile from the present junior high school. Later there was a John Hixson School near the site of the present high school. The Sarah Arnett Johnson family furnished the Boarding House School on Old Hixson Pike, some 300 yards east of the railroad crossing. There was a Gann School on Cassandra Smith Road. The owners of all these buildings made them available free of charge.

       The settlement was not officially named Hixson until the late 1870’s. Railroad builders called it Lookout because they got their first glimpse of Lookout Mountain from the village. The first post office was called Lakeside, but the name was changed to Hixson in Honor of E.F. Hixson, the first postmaster and a member of the County Board of Education.

       As the need for a larger and more centrally located school grew, Ephriam and Margaret Hixson gave a small tract of land to the county for a school in 1883. The land was located on Old Hixson Pike. By 1889 a two-story white frame building had been erected by the community on this property. The Masonic Hall Building now occupies this former school site. An upgrading of the curriculum was begun and in addition to the 3 R’s, several “secondary” subjects were added. Basic requirements for the upper grades were set for earning certificates and diplomas.

       After the turn of the century, the student body had again outgrown the schoolhouse and in 1906, plans were made to build a two-story brick school. A twenty-acre plot, located on the French Grubb Road, was donated to the county by Mr. And Mrs. P. A. Rogers. At a cost of $12,500 the building was erected in 1908. This was the only school in the Hixson area offering high school work. There were one hundred students in the twelve grades, forty-eight of whom were high school students, with only three teachers and a principal. The three teachers were Miss Hallie Hixson, Miss Hartley Embrey, and Mrs. Ruby Wolfe. Only Miss Embrey was designated as a high school teacher. Students came from Red Bank, Mountain Creek, Falling Water, Gann’s, Miller’s Grove, Gold Point, Fairview, and Daisy. They commuted to Hixson according to their own means of transportation. Some walked, others rode horses, bicycled, or came by horse and buggy. The Daisy students “commuted” by the Accommodation, a twice-daily train. Before the new building was completed, the school was granted a “first-class” status, which allowed it to grant diplomas to the graduates of 1909—the end of the first school year in the new building.

       The three girls making up the first graduating class from this new high school were Mrs. Lula Gooden Lewis, Mrs. Anna Pitts Clarke, and Mrs. Carrie Watkins Foster. These girls became career teachers; their combined record amounts to more than 100 years in educational work.

       Mr. G. M. Swingley served as the first principal and Mr. J. B. Brown was the superintendent of the Hamilton County Schools. Mr. J. T. Jones followed Mr. Swingley as principal and served from 1911 to 1943; a period of 32 years. Since 1943 eight others have served as principal: Mr. R. W. Bohanan, Dr. Sam P. McConnell, Mr. S. Dean Peterson, Mr. I. K. Snyder, Mr. Thomas 0. Dye, Mr. Robert A. McCabe, Mr. James L. Milburn, and Mr. B. E. Edwards.

       Our school transportation system was started in 1915 when “two horse power” school wagons were inaugurated to carry those students who lived more than three miles from school. But the youngsters had to spend much of the time in transit pushing the wagon up steep hills and through mud holes. Today’s complaint? Too little parking space!

       The sports history of Hixson High School reaches back to 1910 when the agriculture teacher, Mr. W. J. Forbess, organized a baseball team. The girls began playing a limited basketball schedule about 1915. In 1921, the boys own the county basketball championship. Football had to wait until the post World Was II days of 1948-49 when Mr. A. M. Matusek coached the first team to represent Hixson High School. Two others, A. M. Martino and C. C. Kell, have served as head football coaches. Through the years many sports have been added and today’s curriculum includes: cross country, volleyball, basketball, wrestling, track, baseball, golf, tennis, soccer, and football.

       By 1924 it became necessary to add six new rooms to serve the expanding school. In the early 1930’s one of the large halls was partitioned to add classroom space, and a separate two-room frame building was added. This building housed the primary grades and was located behind the school. When it was no longer needed for classrooms, it was dubbed the “Shot House” because the county health nurse came twice a week and set up a clinic to give immunization shots. At this time a hot lunch program, sponsored by the Parent Teacher Association, was started by the school. A kitchen was set up in a cloakroom on the main floor. Mrs. John Vandergriff was the first cafeteria manager and only four others have served as managers: Mrs. J. A. Gilmore, Mrs. R. L. Hixson, Mrs. Cowart Hixson, and Mrs. Joe McGee.

       The construction of Chickamauga Dam in the 1930’s brought new families into the area and many became permanent residents. The resulting school population increase caused an overcrowding of students. By 1935, a site adjoining the high school was purchased from the late J. N. Thomas and J. T. Jones for a new building. This fourteen-room facility had a cafeteria, a gymnasium, a science laboratory, and an industrial arts room. Grades nine through twelve entered the new building in 1937. The elementary school occupied all the vacant rooms of the old building and the “Shot House” was left for storage and health clinic.

       The years of 1946-48 saw the completion of the DuPont Plant and an influx of families with demands for new homes. This, in turn, brought a steady growth in school population, and in 1957, new facilities including a library, study hall, and science building were added.

       The continued growth in the school population again caused overcrowding, and in 1964, plans were begun for a new high school building to house grades 10, 11, and 12. This building was completed, and a formal dedication ceremony was held in the fall of 1966. This school, Hamilton County’s first circular and twin-domed building, offered all basic educational courses as well as a wide variety of electives.

       The move to this building heightened the desires of alumni and friends of the school to build a football stadium. Architectural plans for a stadium was prepared, and money-raising projects were started. After eleven years of diligent work, worry, and physical labor the stadium was completed in 1977.

       The community and school have changed from rural and agricultural to suburban, and with that change came that annexation by the city of Chattanooga in 1975.