History and facts
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.
South Columbus, or the southside, as locals refer to it as, is a district in Columbus, Georgia, situated just below financial district of Downtown Columbus, and just above the United States Army post Fort Benning. It is a neighborhood with much higher crime and poverty rates than the rest of the city. It 2007, it had a population of 14,342.
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.
Newton Diehl Baker Jr. was an American lawyer, Georgist, politician, and government official. He served as the 37th mayor of Cleveland, Ohio from 1912 to 1915. As U.S. Secretary of War from 1916 to 1921, Baker presided over the United States Army during World War I.
Thomas Woodrow Wilson was an American statesman and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of Princeton University and as the 34th governor of New Jersey before winning the 1912 presidential election. As president, he oversaw the passage of progressive legislative policies unparalleled until the New Deal in 1933. He also led the United States during World War I, establishing an activist foreign policy known as "Wilsonianism."
Victory gardens, also called war gardens or food gardens for defense, were vegetable, fruit, and herb gardens planted at private residences and public parks in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and Germany during World War I and World War II. George Washington Carver wrote an agricultural tract and promoted the idea of what he called a "Victory Garden". They were used along with Rationing Stamps and Cards to reduce pressure on the public food supply. Besides indirectly aiding the war effort, these gardens were also considered a civil "morale booster" in that gardeners could feel empowered by their contribution of labor and rewarded by the produce grown. This made victory gardens a part of daily life on the home front.
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”.
The Muscogee, also known as the Mvskoke, Creek and the Muscogee Creek Confederacy, are a related group of indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands. Mvskoke is their autonym. Their original homelands are in what now comprises southern Tennessee, all of Alabama, western Georgia and part of northern Florida.
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.
1959 - The Alice Mae Dennis Chapter of National Honor Society was chartered.
The National Honor Society (NHS) is a nationwide organization for high school students in the United States and outlying territories, which consists of many chapters in high schools. Selection is based on four criteria: scholarship, leadership, service, and character. The National Honor Society requires some sort of service to the community, school, or other organizations. The time spent working on these projects contributes towards the monthly service hour requirement. The National Honor Society was founded in 1921 by the National Association of Secondary School Principals. The Alpha chapter of NHS was founded at Fifth Avenue High School by Principal Edward S. Rynearson in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
1961 - Newt Gingrich graduated from Baker. Newt was elected to Congress serving as Representative of Georgia's 6th District and was elected Speaker of the House, serving from 1995 to 1999. [1]
Newton Leroy Gingrich is an American politician who served as the 50th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1995 to 1999. A member of the Republican Party, he was the U.S. Representative for Georgia's 6th congressional district from 1979 until his resignation in 1999. In 2012, Gingrich was a candidate for the presidential nomination of his party.
1964 - Baker was the largest school in Georgia with 2,800 students. The "platoon" system was used to accommodate the large numbers. The first classes started at 7:45 am and the second shift started at 8:45 am. Classes were held in the gym, library, and storage rooms. Freshmen were bused to the "freshman annex" for classes. Several girls who did not play instruments in the band were selected as majorettes, and the Dandelions were formed.
1965 - The senior wing, new gym, and cafeteria were constructed, creating the courtyard. An official dedication ceremony was held for Baker High School. The first African-American students, Robert Leonard and Larry Smith, were admitted. Leonard was remembered for the "Cassius Clay" skit, and for getting one of the loudest rounds of applause at graduation. Smith was on the State Championship-winning track team.
1966 - Victoria Morales graduated from Baker and eventually went on to star as Leslie Brooks on the soap opera The Young and the Restless .
1969 - Donald Ray Johnston '66 was posthumously awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor "for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty."
1970 - The first edition of the Lion's Pride, the new title for Baker's yearbook, was published.
1971 - Muscogee County schools were integrated. A boiler fire on March 31 destroyed the auditorium.
1991 - The last Baker High class graduated on June 6. The school was then converted to a middle school.
1999 - Baker Middle School moved to its new campus just down the street. The original building was closed.
2010 - Fire destroyed much of the freshman wing of the abandoned Baker High School.
2011 - Baker High School was demolished.
2013 - A historic marker was dedicated on May 18.
