Baker High School (Columbus, Georgia)

Baker High School
Location
Columbus, Georgia United States
Information
School type	Public
Established	1943
Closed	1991
Color(s)	Blue and white
Website	http://www.bakerlionspride.com/

Baker High School is located in Columbus, Georgia, United States. It was built in 1943 in the shadow of Fort Benning. It was named for Newton Diehl Baker, Secretary of War during World War I. The first graduates received their diplomas in 1945. Baker High served Columbus and Fort Benning for nearly fifty years, producing graduates who excelled in scholarship, athletics, and the arts. The last class of seniors graduated on June 6, 1991. The Baker name lives on at Baker Middle School a few blocks east on Benning Drive. On May 18, 2013, a historical marker was placed at the site of the former school by the Historic Chattahoochee Commission and the Baker High School Alumni Association.

1941 - Muscogee County received a $500,000 appropriation from the Federal government to build a school in rural South Columbus, primarily to serve military families.

1943 - Construction was completed in August and Baker Village School opened on September 13 for grades 1-11. The school was named for Newton D. Baker, Secretary of War (1917–21) under President Woodrow Wilson. To support the war effort, a canning plant was built in the basement for the local victory gardens. Citizens were allowed to cook, prepare, and can their own vegetables so that regular crops could go to the troops. Louise Griner taught Home Economics during the day and ran the cannery at night.

1945 - The first edition of the Arrowhead, Baker's yearbook, was published. Its name reflected the heritage of the Muscogee Indians, a tribe of the Creeks, who once lived where Baker stood. Baker’s mascot was the “Indians”.

1948 - Baker changed their mascot to the "Lion".

1950 - Baker switched to a twelve-year format. Previously only eleven years were required to graduate.

1954 - Baker won its first state basketball championship. Other state titles were basketball in 1956 and track in 1964, 1965, 1966, 1968 and 1969. Baker athletes were nicknamed the "Blue Jackets."

1956 - The band and chorus rooms were constructed on the west side of the school.

1958 - The last kindergarten through sixth grade classes started at Baker in September. The first enriched or "accelerated" classes were added to the course schedule, along with remedial classes. This three-tier grouping of students at Baker was a first in Muscogee County.

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