Parker High School
Then and Now
The memories created at Parker High School loom large in the hearts of those of us who were fortunate enough to spend our teen years there in pursuit of our PHD.
Parker began as a bold collaboration between the textile mills and the educators in Greenville County. In the 1920s, the textile industry was big in Greenville. The children who grew up in the textile mill villages attended mill village schools through the 6th grade only. There was a need for a public high school for these children, and Parker High School opened in 1923.
The original vision was to provide vocational training and a lengthened formal education for the children of the Parker District- an area on the west side of Greenville County that consisted of 14 textile communities. The first superintendent of Parker District High School was Dr. L. P. Hollis, a man who genuinely inspired others and was deeply committed to Parker for most of his adult life.
In the 1970s, the owners of the textile mills began moving their operations oversees to save on labor costs. This shift resulted in massive layoffs in the mills around Greenville. By 1985, Greenville County felt that they could no longer keep the high school open because the student population had dropped so drastically due to textile workers having to pursue work and life elsewhere. The last class graduated from Parker High School on June 7, 1985.
A comprehensive history of the early years of Parker High School can be found in the Weaver of Dreams ebook which is also available in the South Carolina Room at the Greenville County Library.
The buildings on the Parker Campus were used as a middle school for a while and then the buildings sat vacant for about seven years. In 2010, William Brown purchased the Parker Campus and began Legacy Charter School. The legacy of Parker lives on in the charter school's mission of making an excellent education available to children who might otherwise fall through the cracks. Legacy's goal is that every one of their graduates would attend and complete college.
During its 62 year existence, the vision and success of the Parker experiment was studied by many educators nationally and internationally. The recipient of many awards, the school was named as one of our nation’s “Top 100“ high schools five times. But, the greatest honor that Parker has ever received is the unremitting love that 62 years of graduates have for this school. It is a tightly knit community.
On May 11, 2024, there will be a Centennial Celebration of the first class of students to graduate from this bold experiment of a high school. Hopefully, many of you will come and join in this celebration to the "Purple and the Gold".
More information on the history and vision of Legacy Early College can be found at their website.
