North Marion High School (West Virginia)
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North Marion is a public Triple A ("AAA") high school in West Virginia, with a current enrollment of 905 students[1]. The School website is: http://www.labs.net/schools/marion/nmhs/
North Marion High School is located approximately 4 miles from Farmington, West Virginia on US Route 250 north. While it is closer to the city of Mannington, West Virginia, and is often considered to be located in Rachel, West Virginia, the school mailing address is Farmington. Rachel is a small coal mining community located adjacent to the school, and is an unincorporated municipality
The school is a consolidated high school (grades 9 through 12) made up of four former high schools that closed in the consolidation: Barrackville, Monongah, Mannington and Fairview. Farmington High School, which closed in 1975 because of structural problems caused by mine subsidence, is often considered to be part of the consolidated group (even though it had been closed prior to the building of the new school). North Marion High School was completed and opened in September, 1979, and, with over 1,600 students, was at the time one of the largest high schools in West Virginia. The four former high schools were converted to middle schools, with all four buildings remaining in current use. The Farmington High School building has been razed. In late 2007, the Marion County Board of Education was considering a proposal for a replacement building for the school to be built on the property behind the current high school. The current plans for the new building can be seen at http://www.wvarchitects.com/nmhs2
North Marion's mascot is the Husky. Its colors are black and silver. The mascot and colors were chosen by the students of the various consolidated high schools in an election in the spring of 1979.
After completion of the original facility, the building process continued sporadically. A local group calling themselves the "Wood Cutters" completed, with mostly volunteer labor and materials, the addition of a facilities building, football stadium, practice field and softball field. Without the work and efforts of the volunteers, many of the improvements of the school would not have been possible and the continued improvement of the grounds has become a source of community pride.
North Marion has been known for its outstanding athletic teams including 1980, 1981 and 1997 Class AAA Football Championships, and the 1999 Class AAA Men's Basketball Championship. A complete listing of school athletic and cheerleading championships can be found at http://www.labs.net/schools/marion/nmhs/Page3b.htm
North Marion's most famous alumnus is Rich Rodriguez, of Grant Town, West Virginia. Rodriguez is a former West Virginia University football player and head coach and the current head football coach for the University of Michigan [2]. Rodriguez graduated in 1981. Rodriguez had attended Fairview High School prior to the consolidation in 1979. The School also has the most crazy student section known as "The Rachel Rowdies" They follow the varsity girls basketball team and cheer them on.
North Marion High School is represented as "Grantville High School" in the popular alternative history novel 1632 (novel) by writer Eric Flint. The novel is set in the fictional town of Grantville, which is based on the real town and surroundings of Mannington. [3]
