Bradshaw High School
Bradshaw High School was a public high school in Florence, Alabama. After the 2003–04 school year, the school merged with Coffee High School to form Florence High School.
History
Bradshaw High School opened its doors in August 1966. The school was named in honor of Mr. Henry A. Bradshaw, a well-known local attorney. After passing the bar exam, Mr. Bradshaw opened the Ashcraft & Bradshaw Law Firm and became attorney for the Florence City Schools, as well as the Lauderdale County School System. Both of Mr. Bradshaw's parents were educators so he, too, had a love for education.
Bradshaw High School had an initial enrollment of seven hundred and ninety students. During the next ten years, Bradshaw enrollment quickly escalated to more than one thousand students, who were well accommodated in the two hundred and fifty thousand square foot complex. The first principal was Mr. Joe Brewer. He was succeeded by John Willis, Ronnie Owens, and Jimmy Johnson and Dr. Randy Pettus. In its final year as Bradshaw, the high school had an enrollment of over nine hundred students. The former Bradshaw High School campus is situated on a thirty-two acre site in Florence, Alabama. The area around the school is primarily residential, but is becoming more and more business oriented. The school itself consisted of over 250,000 square feet, which included well-equipped classrooms and laboratories, two large gymnasiums, an auditorium, dining room and cafeteria, a commons area, and a vocational wing.
Bradshaw always had a reputation for stressing excellence. Historically, Bradshaw students excelled academically. For the last 10 years of its existence, Bradshaw seniors received on average more than three million dollars in scholarships annually. Bradshaw claimed numerous National Merit Finalists, Semifinalists, and Commended Scholars. In addition to academics, Bradshaw also claimed great success in athletics. Further, Bradshaw students have historically been involved community affairs, and have gained much recognition as community servants. The Bradshaw student body typically reflected the Florence community both economically and racially. Students from higher, middle, and lower economic levels were enrolled, and the ethnic ratios were typical of the community.
For 38 years, Bradshaw High School was viewed as one of the top schools in the area. At the conclusion of the 2003-2004 school year, Bradshaw High School closed its doors, and a new chapter began, as Florence High School opened on the former Bradshaw campus that very year.[1]