Jefferson High School

Front: Jefferson High School opened in 1956 as a junior high and high school for African-American students of Beech Island, Belvedere, Graniteville, Jackson, Langley-Bath-Clearwater, and North Augusta, with Herman W.W. Fennell (1910-1996) as principal. After county schools desegregated in 1970 it became Jefferson Junior High School, and in 1980 it became Jefferson Elementary School. Reverse: This was one of three African-American schools in Aiken County named for Rev. Austin Jefferson, Sr. (1881-1966), longtime advocate for education. In 1944 the Langley-Bath Colored School was renamed Jefferson Grammar School in his honor. The original portion of this school was built in 1953 as the Jefferson Elementary School, with Augustus T. Stephens (1903-1992) as principal.