History of Harmony School

A Brief History of Harmony School
 It was about the year 1906 when the citizens of Harmony realized that the district school was not meeting the educational needs of the boys and girls in the northern section of Iredell County; so by uniting their efforts and means they succeeded in building the Harmony Academy where boys and girls were given elementary training and two years of high school instruction.  It was not until 1916 that the school became a four year state accredited high school.  As the classes grew from year to year, it was soon realized that the old academy would no longer meet the growing educational demand; therefore, in 1922 a two story brick building was erected.

 The high school was rightfully called Harmony Farm Life School, for in addition to the academic subjects, courses were offered in agriculture and home economics in separate building provided by their departments.  The agriculture department was added in 1917, and at that time there were only three departments of its kind in the state, Harmony being one of the three.  In 1928 the name of the school was changed to Harmony High School.  Instead of agricultural training on the school farm, the Smith-Hughes Act provided for a vocational agriculture department and the present method of instruction – the home projects method.  About the same time the George-Reed Act made possible a broader course of home economics training by providing for the home visitation and project method of instruction.

 In the late ‘20’s, a teacher-training department was added, a one-year course.  This class was popular and many who completed this course completed their college training and became outstanding teachers.   The training class was discontinued in 1929.

 In 1930 a commercial department was added.  This department has proved one of the most valuable assets to the school.  Many of our students who graduated were prepared to take positions as soon as they left school.

 Our school grew rapidly, from 263 pupils in 1918-19 to 789 in 1960-61.  This increase in enrollment made necessary the erection of three additional buildings for instructional purposes.  Much of the credit for this continued progress is due to the public-spirited citizens within the school district.

 In 1966, two consolidated high schools were constructed in Iredell County.  One school was located near Troutman and was named South Iredell High School, and another was located near Olin and was named North Iredell High School.  Students from Harmony High School were transferred to North Iredell High School, and Harmony High School became Harmony Elementary School.  The last class to graduate from Harmony High School was the class of 1966.  In 1970 the two story high school was torn down and now a beautiful one story building is located just in front of the former building.  The old school bell has been placed in a position of honor on the campus.

 We remember with appreciation the many teachers who led us through the paths of learning.  Their dedication to their profession and their ability to give their pupils a measure of self-confidence has left an indelible impression.  Space does not permit our naming them, but thanks to research by Helen Laws Parker and Gay Reavis Cartner, we are able to name the principals from the school at Harmony in 1884 to the present time. 

(Written in 1961; revised in 1971; revised in 1981) 

Principals of Harmony School
1884-present

John Parris 1884	Murcherson  1887	R.V. Tharpe  1890
J. N. Barron  1892	A.W. George  1898	Morgan & J.C. Troutman  1903
Joe Sharpe  1905	Webb Van Hoy  1907	Josephine McLinden  1909
Miss Sanders  1911	Mary Kennedy  1911	J. N. Barron   1913
Mr. Byrd  1914	R. H. Lankford  1915	W. T. Long  1926
I. J. Stevenson  1929	J. Clyde Kelly  1930	R.H. Lankford 1932
T. Ward Guy  1936	J.H. Gentry  1937	Carl Cathey  1939
J. M. Gray  1941	W. H. Adams  1941	B. W. Griffith  1942
R. V. Day  1945	O. B. Welch  1951	Harold Waters  1961
Ray B. Smith 1966	Ray B. Smith 1966	John Nantz  1971
Jim Edmiston  1977	Marshall Redmon  1982	Betty Stone 1989
Reginald Brown  1993	Dinah Daniels  1999	Bill Long   2006
Andy Trotter 2008	Wayne Harwell 2010	Andy Mehall 2014
Todd Russo 2018