Muskogee High School first opened its doors on August 19, 1970. It integrated the city's two segregated schools, Central High and Manual Training High. The best of these historical institutions combined to create a new school for modern times.

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Public education is relatively new in Oklahoma, compared to the rest of the country. After Indian Territory opened for non-native settlement in 1889, children attended private schools operated by churches, missions, and Indian tribes. In 1898, Congress passed the Curtis Act, which allowed towns in Indian Territory to incorporate and charge taxes. That year, Muskogee formed a Board of Education and began opening public elementary schools through eighth grade. The schools were segregated according to the law at that time.

In 1905, high school courses were added to the curriculum. White students attended the classes at Jefferson Elementary, and black students attended at Dunbar Elementary. To accommodate the growing number of high school students, money was raised for two new buildings. Central High and Manual Training both opened in the fall of 1910. For the next sixty years, each school fostered a strong sense of pride within the community.

Central High School
 

Manual Training High School

 

In the mid-1960s, construction of a sprawling new high school campus began, with the goal to end segregation. Central and Manual graduated their last classes in May 1970. That fall, all high school students attended Muskogee High School.

 

From the 1972 MHS Yearbook: Born under the influence of progress, MHS stands at the doorway to the future for over 2200 students. Changing the dreams of integration into reality, MHS drew from its former self, Central High School, and its brother, Manual High School, to form a unity of understandings and a step toward a future goal. Never retreating from problems of today, Muskogee High School, with its students and faculty, stands ever ready for tomorrow.

 

Muskogee High School
1970 Architectural Rendering

 

In 1970, Muskogee High kept the Central mascot name of “The Roughers," which the football team earned in the 1920s due to their rough play without helmets. In 1981, the school selected a mascot image to honor the Manual High Bulldogs and Oklahoma's oil history. The “Roughers” name and mascot are copyrighted and unique to our school.