Shaw High School, built in 1923, was designed by architect N.W. Overstreet in Prairie and Italian Renaissance styles. Featuring a two-story auditorium, lunchroom, library, and fourteen classrooms, it served as a community hub. A 1940 WPA-funded gymnasium, designed with Moderne flair, was added, and the complex, including a 1960s cafeteria and vocational building, earned National Register of Historic Places status in 2017 and Mississippi Landmark designation in 2016. Originally part of the Shaw School District, it merged into the West Bolivar Consolidated School District in 2014, becoming McEvans School (K-12) by 2020. Enrollment dropped from nearly 1,000 in 1958 to 199 by 2023-2024, reflecting rural decline. A 1958 fire damaged the original McEvans Negro High School, and the Shaw High building later deteriorated, prompting relocation.

 

Exploring the Abandoned Shaw High School I recently explored the exterior of the three-story Shaw High School, photographing its weathered tan brick facade. The main building was inaccessible, but the cafeteria, doubling as administration, was open. Inside, I found a silent kitchen, round dining tables, four pianos in the hallway, and scattered records, with an open safe revealing more documents. The 1940 gymnasium’s rotten stairs and decaying bleachers, fading into a crumbling floor, hinted at past vitality. I plan to return to explore the main building’s interior, uncovering more of this Delta landmark’s story.