Danville School was started by Professor Z. F. Freeman sometime around 1858. The exact date is not known. Professor Freeman was a noted educator and young men from many counties boarded in Danville as they lived too far away to travel to school each day.
Danville's Academy was interrupted by the Civil War when Professor Freeman became a captain in one of the companies of the 11th Alabama Calvary. The school building survived the war so when Captain Freeman returned he re-opened the school. After his death, this building was torn down.
The second Danville School was a three-story building that existed from 1874 to 1881 when it burned. This school had male and female students from age 8 to adults.
The third Danville School was a two-story building with classrooms on the first floor and an auditorium on the second. This school burned on Christmas Day in 1898. The fire was discovered by some people riding down the road. All that was saved was an organ, a stove, and some chairs.
The fourth Danville School was built by Rev. Marion Briscoe. The school began as a private school with male and female students. They ranged in age from around six to their late teens.
At some point near 1906 the school was taken over by the Morgan County Board of Education and for the first time became a public school. It is believed that this school only had grades one through six. This school was renovated in 1915 and officially became a junior high school.
The first mention of a new building at Danville was in the Morgan County Schools board minutes on Nov. 25, 1921. According to Mrs. Buford Roberts, the 4th school building was moved to the rear of the property. An addition was added and this became the vocational building. A new school was built to become the fifth Danville School building.
Information from Sketches of Danville High School by Larry R. Brown
