Central Middle School History

A moving symbol of the evolution of educational opportunities for African Americans who lived in Galveston, Central High School opened as a storefront in 1885. The aim was to further the education of its African American students. The First African American High school in Texas was opened at the corner of Avenue N and Fifteenth street.

Central High School was the all-important link between elementary school and higher education for African American students in Galveston. As Central High School grew, a new building was built at the corner of Avenue L and Twenty-sixth street. After the school’s accreditation in 1926, graduates were able to apply to college without taking eligibility exams.

In an effort to make the facilities and curriculum in the African American school equal to those of the white Ball High School in Galveston. A new location was constructed in 1954 at Sealy Street. Fourteen years later, when education in the city was desegregated, Central High School became a Junior High School, which opened its doors for the first time to a more ethnically diverse group of students. The original building at Avenue L and Twenty-sixth street is now the site of the Old Central Culture Center, presided over by one of its original graduates.