Finley High School

Front: Finley High School opened in 1923. It was originally known as Chester Colored High School and located ¼ mi. N on McClure St. In 1927 the school was renamed in honor of its founding principal Samuel Louis Finley who came to Chester in 1905 to join the Loomis St. School. The 1923 two-story wood frame school as well as a brick shop building (1929) were both built with support from the Julius Rosenwald Foundation. Finley High School moved to this site in 1956. Reverse: This campus was designed by architecture firm Lockwood Greene and funded by the S.C. equalization program, a state effort to preserve segregation by upgrading Black schools. Upon opening in 1956 the school enrolled more than 500 students. The last class graduated from Finley High School in 1970 after which this site became integrated Chester Jr. High School. Elliott Richardson served as the high school’s principal throughout its time at this site. It later became a community center.