The E.W. Grove Henry County High School building, also known as Grove Tower, is a historic building located on Grove Boulevard in Paris, Henry County, Tennessee. It is a "two story and basement building of gray pressed brick," the first of a few buildings comprising the Grove School campus. Grove High School was the first privately endowed public high school in Tennessee, opening in 1906. It was closed after graduating the class of 1969 and replaced by Henry County High School. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.
Endowment and building
Edwin Wiley Grove, a former resident and businessman of Paris, Tennessee and formulator of Grove's Tasteless Chill Tonic, first offered to endow a public high school there on 9 April 1902. This offer stipulated that the county "establish and arrange for its maintenance." The Henry County Quarterly Court rejected this offer, citing the prevalence of smallpox in the county over the previous three years but "recognizing in it a high and philanthropic motive."
A second offer was made by Grove on 3 July 1905. Its terms stated that if the county and city would appropriate a sum of not less than $40,000 for the purposes of purchasing grounds, Grove would endow the school in the amount of $50,000 for the perpetual maintenance and operation. A board of trustees was further specified to handle the endowment. The court voted of 23 to 4 in favor of this offer.
Grove personally chose the site of the school on what was then known as Jernigan Heights, previously known as McCampbell's Hill, the highest point in west Tennessee. T. P. Jernigan, the land owner, donated the 17 and one half acres chosen. The county acquired further land adjoining the site at a cost of $4,650. The cornerstone was ceremoniously laid by the Paris Masonic Lodge on 26 June 1906. A bottle of Grove's Tasteless Chill Tonic was placed in inside.
Classes began in September 1906 in the library and council room of Paris City Hall until Christmas when Grove Tower building was finished.
Total expenditure in building the school was $46,400 paid in part by Henry county, the city of Paris and contributions from citizens. The building was designed by architect Reuben Harrison Hunt at a cost of $841.77. Joseph Tremby contracted for construction of the building, for which he was paid $28,946.89 and S. J. Veltman contracted for heating, plumbing and sewage for which he was paid $3,179.40, $1,459.60 and $525 respectively. Property for the school was a mix of donation and purchase at a cost of $4,650.00.
History
Grove High School's first football team, the Chill Tonics, were coached by co-principal Dr. Clovis Chappell. Their uniforms were provided by E. W. Grove and Barton Field was donated by Col. O. C. Barton.
The first graduates of Grove High School were Louise Johnsonius and Fern Madole. They were awarded their diplomas on a Sunday night in 1908 at a tent revival held in Paris by Rev. Lynn Broughton.
By 1910, the school was reported to have 150 pupils. About $15,000 had been raised by that time with the interest of building a dormitory for girls. Cavitt Hall, a two-story and basement dormitory was completed by the summer of 1910 with contributions from E. W. Grove, Col. and Mrs. O. C. Barton, J. C. Rainey, A. H. Lankford and other citizens of Henry County. It was named for the family of Mrs. Barton. In 1924, it was converted to a home economics department and the basement continued to be used as a cafeteria until 1949.
In 1912, E. W. Grove began sending a regular payment of $150 to the principal with instructions that it be used to purchase fruit for the students. When the principal instead used it to improve the road leading up to the school, Grove stopped the payment.
Dudley M. Clements, a popular Grove teacher and County Demonstration Agent for Henry County, established the nation's first vocational agricultural program in 1917 under the Smith-Hughes Act. In 1919, he was appointed State Superintendent of Vocational Agriculture.
When Grove died in January 1927, his estate settled with the school's board of trust to make a final payment of $81,000 and terminate any regular monies paid as part of his original endowment.