Olive Hill High School operated from 1924 until 1965 as the only high school for black students in Burke County, when schools were segregated. In 1924, there were nine high schools in Burke County: Oak Hill, Salem, Glen Alpine, Morganton, Olive Hill, Valdese, Drexel, George Hildebrand, and Hildebran.

Feeder elementary schools for Olive Hill came from Corpening School in Hartland, Corpening School in Bridgewater, Willow Tree School in Quaker Meadows, McAlpine School of Glen Alpine, Drexel Elementary School of Berrytown and Maple Grove.

Money to build Olive Hill High School came partially from a wealthy benefactor, Julius Rosenwald, who established a fund to support the education of African American children in rural areas of the South. However, most of the funds for the construction were raised and contributed by the local community.

P. E. Corpening was the first principal and he remained until his death in 1941. He was active in the community and was the choir director at Green Street Presbyterian Church. At Olive Hill he also taught classes in mathematics. His wife, Mary, served as a teacher in the elementary school, also on West Concord Street.

In 1940, additional rooms were built to provide space for high school science and home economic classes. In 1949, a new building was opened for the high school classes. This building remains in use today by Burke County Public Schools as the Olive Hill Resource Center, where meetings of the Burke County School Board are held.

W. F. McIntosh, who taught for many years at Olive Hill wrote about Olive Hill for the News Herald in 2014. In the article, he said, “Basketball and football were the uniting force of school spirit. When a band was organized in the early ‘50s, it became the pride and joy of the community. Not long after, the Olive Hill Glee Club came in and shared the spotlight.

A daily devotion was held every morning and this was a display of student spirituality. Teachers added much pride in personal appearance and organized many programs to bring about a stronger school spirit. Much of the supplies and equipment received came from the donations from other schools in the system.

This included books, band uniforms, football equipment, and many other items…The end for Olive Hill High School came in the spring of 1965, and the students were assigned to the schools nearest to their homes. But the Olive Hill spirit did not die because the school was closed.

It is still alive and it brings the former students together often.” McIntosh added that the teachers at Olive Hill were “powerfully strong and influential.”

They encouraged their students to make the best out of what they received.
When the schools in Burke County were desegregated in 1965, Olive Hill High School closed and the facility became known as the West Concord School, which housed 9th grade students, Black and White, from Morganton.

The West Concord School was in operation until Freedom High School opened for high school students in 1973. After that, the building was in use by Burke County Schools as a school for students with special needs until North Liberty School was built.

It was used also as a Staff Development Center and now is home to the school system’s Technology Department. The Olive Hill Room was formerly the Olive Hill High School gymnatorium and is now used for large gatherings and meetings of the Burke County School Board.

The School Board voted to change the name of the facility back to its roots by renaming it the Olive Hill Resource Center in November of 2016, and a special ribbon cutting ceremony was held in March of 2017 to unveil new signage for the building.
The library’s annual Black History program, known as the “Gathering of the People” is traditionally held at the library, but in 2018, it was held in the Olive Hill Room at the newly renamed Olive Hill Resource Center.

The topic of the program was “Remembering Olive Hill” and featured a slideshow of photographs along with several speakers who had attended the school.

Source: Nettie McGimpsey McIntosh 2004-09-21-016 - Burke County Public Library, Picture Burke, Selected Historical Photographs of Burke County North Carolina

Source: Historic Burke Foundation