Hindman High School

The history of Hindman High School is closely tied with that of Hindman Settlement School. One of Hindman Settlement School's primary objectives was "to educate the children back to their homes instead of away from them." Thus, Hindman Settlement School's curriculum, with its extra training in gardening, sewing, cooking, basketry and carpentry, was intended to provide for this. Even the youngest children received practical experience in housekeeping and learned how to cultivate vegetables.

Settlement Established First High School in Knott County
After 1910, when the Settlement became the county's high school, advanced students became a more important component of the student population. From the outset, many of the Settlement School's students boarded on campus. All students who boarded were required to work. Scholarships for boarders were initially set at $50 per year, then raised a couple of years later to $100. In the 1920s the sum reached $150, where it remained until the boarding program ended in 1980. Many of the scholarships were provided by donors from outside of Kentucky.

Even then, only about 25 percent of the students were in high school, and many of them did not complete all four years. A remarkably large percentage of graduates pursued higher education, but they were the end result of a winnowing process that began in the lower grades.

In 1911 the Settlement graduated its first high school class since becoming the county's designated high school. There were five members, including one of Hindman's most distinguished alumni, Lula Hale, the class valedictorian. Hale went on to college, taught for several years at the Settlement, and then became a prominent mountain settlement worker, founding "Home Place" not far from Hazard, Kentucky.

At the opening of the 1929-30 school year, the Settlement School received a grade "A" accreditation by the Southern Association of Schools and Colleges. This was the highest ranking for academic excellence that a high school could receive and allowed Hindman graduates to enter any college in the association without further testing or course work.

Settlement Donates Land for New County High School
In 1930, the Settlement School donated land and a majority of the funds needed for Knott County to build and open a large, new high school. The Settlement continued to provide industrial education, music and recreation but also moved into serving other areas of educational need.

In 1943, the Hindman Yellow Jackets won the state high school basketball tournament.

Knott Central High School Built
In 1974 a new consolidated high school, Knott County Central was built. By 1977, the old Hindman High School had become a middle school. By 1980, the boarding program at Hindman Settlement school had ended.

In 1999, the land and building that Hindman Settlement School originally donated to construct Hindman High School was slated for conversion to The Kentucky School of Craft, a project of the Hindman/Knott County Community Development Initiative.

Because of its historical association, and because Hindman High no longer exists, Hindman Settlement School has continued to facilitate alumni banquets and gatherings for both Hindman Settlement School and Hindman High School alumni.

See our events calendar for dates. E-mail us if you wish to be added to the mailing list.

Note: This account relies heavily on Challenge and Change in Appalachia: The Story of Hindman Settlement School, by Jess Stoddart, published by the University Press of Kentucky in 2002, in honor of the Settlement School's 100th anniversary. Stoddart's mother, Marie Stewart, attended Hindman Settlement School as did her uncle, Albert Stewart, who came to live at the Settlement as a five-year old in 1919 and graduated from Hindman High School in 1932.