Sims High School #2

Sims High School, located here from 1956 to 1970, replaced a 1927 school on Union Boulevard, which in 1929 had become the first state-accredited high school for African American students in the upstate. It was named for Rev. A.A. Sims, founder and first principal 1927-1951. James F. Moorer, principal 1951-1969, also coached the football team to 93 consecutive conference wins 1946-1954. C.A. Powell, who was white, was the school’s last principal, 1969-1970. A new school was built here in 1956. Notable alumni include the first black head coach in NCAA Division I-A football, the first coach of a black college basketball team in the National Invitational Tournament, and the first black chief of chaplains of the United States Army. Sims High School closed in 1970 with the desegregation of Union County schools, but this building housed Sims Junior High School 1970-2009. A new Sims Middle School, on Whitmire Highway, opened in 2009.

KEYWORDS: UNION COUNTY