School History

Vinemont School, established around 1900, is located on the highest point of the L & N Railroad from Cincinnati to New Orleans.  Sometimes Vinemont School is referred to as the "Pinnacle School" because of its location.  The first school was located on the site where Vinemont Baptist Church presently stands.

Around 1918 Vinemont School and Holmes Gap School faced consolidation.  A compromise location was reached and property was obtained about halfway between the original sites of the two schools.  The new school was located just north of Holmes Gap Hotel, which was built in 1904 by Joe McClanahan.  The building was destroyed by fire on March 31, 1931.

The new elementary building, erected on the present site, consisted of eight rooms, an office and a library.  To beautify the campus, principal, L. C. Camp and students Curtis Goodwin, Elmer Adams, Frazier Adams, Thomas Lake, and Ollie Lake planted the stately oaks in relation to Arbor Day activities in 1934 or 1935.  Later more classrooms and a lunchroom were added, making a total of fourteen rooms.

The present lunchroom was built in 1965.  The year 1966 proved to be a progressive year with the beginning of construction of the present high school building.  The tenth grade was added in 1966, the eleventh grade in 1967, and the twelfth grade in 1968.  Vinemont became an accredited high school on October 7, 1968.  The first graduating class consisted of forty-nine students.

Vinemont School continued to grow.  In 1969 the Home Economics Department and four new classrooms were built.  A football stadium was added in 1970 and the high school gym was completed in 1971.  Two additional classrooms and the band room were completed in 1973.  A tennis court and four more elementary classrooms were added on 1974.  Two reading rooms were finished in 1980.

Vinemont School was stricken by tragedy again on May 7, 1981.  The original white-frame elementary school was destroyed by fire.  The present elementary school along with an elementary gymnasium and the Pinnacle Bell Tower were built in 1982-83.  In 1984 four kindergarten rooms were constructed.  

At the first football game, our mascot Elton Eagle, was presented.  It was named in honor of Elton Hall, a former principal of Vinemont School for twenty-six years.  

A weight room was added to the field house in 1985 and a track field was added two years later in 1987.

Since an agricultural department was added to the curriculum in 1983, the modern Tom Drake Agri-Business Center was dedicated in January 1989.  The building was named for the Honorable Tom Drake, a former student of Vinemont School.  As a state representative at that time, he was instrumental in obtaining funds for the project.

Continued growth has led to present facilities which include the following: a separate middle school that was constructed in the year 1999 (which includes a gym, media center, counseling office, administrative offices, twenty classrooms, and a multi-purpose room), a library that serves K-5 students (which includes a teacher workroom and a classroom), a state-of-the-art field house, renovated baseball and softball fields, and computer labs for the elementary school, middle school, and high school.  Six classrooms were constructed for the elementary school three years ago and a new playground is in place for the elementary students.  This year (2006-07) the high school has added a new greenhouse for use in the Agriculture Department.