Moor High School was a historically black, public secondary school in Starkville, Mississippi. The school had roots in the Pleasant Grove Community School. In 2002, Moor was closed, then consolidated and merged with Alexander, another historically black high school in Starkville, Mississippi. The new school was housed at the Moor High location. In 2015 the state caused the Oktibbeha County School District to merge with the Starkville School District, and Moor was shuttered as a high school. The school district continued to use it for some time.[2][3]

Moor High School
The former B.L. Moor High School building in Oktoc, Mississippi
Location
Map
,
United States
Coordinates33°19′59″N 88°42′46″W / 33.3331°N 88.7128°W / 33.3331; -88.7128
Information
TypePublic, segregated[citation needed]
Opened1960[1]
Closed2002[citation needed]
School districtFive
SuperintendentWalter Conley[citation needed]
MascotEagles
NicknamePleasant Grove[citation needed]
Team nameEagles
www.thetangerinemotel.com

History

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Moor High was founded in 1960 as a segregated all-black school.[2] In 1997 and 1998, proposals were made to reorganize the district, merging the two schools west of Starkville, Maben and Sturgis, into the Starkville Schools, while creating a new school district for the mostly Black schools (Alexander and Moor) on the east side of Starkville.[4] After a fire burned the school in 2002, the school was merged with Alexander High school[5] and was renamed East Oktibbeha County School.[6] The Mississippi Legislature forced the Oktibbeha County School District to merge with the Starkville School District to become the Starkville Oktibbeha Consolidated School District.[7] At that time, East Oktibbeha County School closed and all students were transferred to Starkville High School.[8]

As of 2016, the site was abandoned.[9]

In 2023, the school was re-purposed into a unique wedding venue and boutique motel, The Hill and Moor and The Tangerine Motel.[10][11]

Notable alumni

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References

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  1. ^ "Black alumni of Starkville's Moor High School fight to preserve its property, heritage". Jackson Advocate. Jackson Advocate News. 28 June 2021. Archived from the original on January 28, 2023. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
  2. ^ a b Jones, Tyler B (June 22, 2021). "Manufacturer, educational group vie for control over 16th section land". Dispatch. Archived from the original on December 26, 2023. Retrieved 26 December 2023. if this school is ever forced to take in white students, take my name off it
  3. ^ a b McBride, Earnest (May 22, 2023). "Alumni of B. L. Moor High in Oktibbeha County plan 55-year commemoration on June 17". Archived from the original on May 28, 2023. Retrieved 27 December 2023.
  4. ^ "Clarion-Ledger 30 Aug 1998, page Page 6".
  5. ^ McLane, Jeff (September 5, 2023). "Myself and Mississippi Before the Eagles' A.J. Brown went 'ba-boom' in the NFL, his light flickered in Starkville". Philadelphia Inquirer. Archived from the original on October 30, 2023. Retrieved 27 December 2023.
  6. ^ Wesley, Charles (October 23, 2023). "Historical documents and artifacts from B. L. Moor High School and other county schools are donated to the Mississippi Department of Archives and History". Starkville Daily News. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
  7. ^ "The Plan for Starkville Oktibbeha Consolidated School District Archived 2017-05-26 at the Wayback Machine." Starkville Oktibbeha Consolidated School District. January 20, 2015. Retrieved on July 3, 2017.
  8. ^ https://www.ahsfhs.org/mississippi/Teams/teampage.asp?year=1996&Team=East%20Oktibbeha%20County [bare URL]
  9. ^ Carskadon, James (27 May 2016). "Push renewed to make use of former school buildings". Starkville Daily News. Archived from the original on 21 January 2019. Retrieved 21 January 2019.
  10. ^ McLaughlin, Grant (2023-02-02). "Goings on with Grant: From lessons to lodgings: Former Crawford school transformed to event space, motel". The Dispatch. Retrieved 2023-02-16.
  11. ^ "Tangerine Hotel being built in rural Oktibbeha County". 6 September 2022.
  12. ^ "Rice's football career traced to Oktibbeha County". Archived from the original on 2014-06-07. Retrieved 2017-11-14.