History of Muskogee Public Schools
Muskogee Public Schools were established in 1898, soon after the Curtis Act of Congress of June 28, 1898.
The first school board members were Captain W.C. Trent, president; Thomas A. Samson Jr., secretary; W.N. Martin; W.T. Hutchings; J.B. Torrans and O.F. Beebe.
But the first-year's record of the Board of Education's proceedings were destroyed in the Feb. 23, 1899 fire.
It is said the first public school was located in a two-story house on South Second Street with four teachers and 200 students.
By the 1899-1900 school year, there were 10 teachers and 350 students.
The first superintendent was H.M. Butler, and was paid $100 a month for the 1898-1899 school year.
However, the position was done away with by the Board of Education the following year and Butler became a school principal instead.
The second superintendent was hired in May 1901, Dr. W.F. Wilson of Fayettville, Arkansas. He earned $1,000 annually in his position.
Soon the Board opened a second school, in the old W.C.T.U. building on Cherokee Street. It had 646 students and eight teachers. A school for African-American students was opened in the north part of the city with four teachers in 1901.
The first "bond issue" of the district was in July 1902, when the Board authorized issuance of warrants in the sum of $40,000, payable in $5,000 each year with an 8 percent interest rate.
These funds were used to build school houses, including two 10-room buildings and an 8-room building for African-American students.
Before the buildings were even complete, Muskogee's population had soared so much, the Board had to begin planning to expand even more.
The city's first two schools were Jefferson and Washington. The first high school was 16 students in one room of the Jefferson School building in 1905. The first high school principal D. Frank Redd.
The Central High School building was built in 1910, soon followed by Manual Training High School for the African-American students during that time of segregation.
By 1935, the following schools were all completed and in use:
Central High
Junior High
Washington School
Jefferson School
Longfellow School
Whittier School
Franklin School
Sequoyah School
Irving School
Houston School
Edison School
Manual Training High
Dunbar School
Douglas School
Langston School
In 1925 the Central football team won another state championship and the squad was tagged with the nickname “Roughers” because many of the players performed without helmets, due to lack of funding, and for their rough play. The current Rougher mascot is a roughneck with a bulldog face symbolizing the Oklahoma oil days and the Manual High bulldog mascot and was created by MHS students in the mid 1970's.
In 2019, the school district refreshed the branding and logos with a refreshed "Rougher Dog" encompassed inside a shield featuring the bulldog face with an oil derrick and hard hat. Both the mascot and the term “Roughers” are copyrighted and can never be used by any other institution.
Because of the rich history and tradition, the Muskogee High School Roughers have become an icon to the Muskogee community.
Click HERE to view the complete branding guide.
 |
|||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|||
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
Pantone: PMS 350 C |
Pantone: White |
Pantone: Black |
Pantone: PMS 429 C |
|
Web: #2C5234 |
Web: #FFFFFF |
Web: #000000 |
Web: #A2AAAD |
|
CMYK: C: 80 M: 21 Y: 79 K: 64 |
CMYK: C:0 M:0 Y:0 K:0 |
CMYK: C:50 M:50 Y:50 K:100 |
CMYK: C:21 M:11 Y:9 K:23 |
|
RGB: R:44 G:82 B:52 |
RGB: R:255 G:255 B:255 |
RGB: R:0 G:0 B:0 |
RGB: R:162 G:170 B:173 |
 |
|||
 |
 |
 |
 |