History
While several private high schools, including two that went by the name "Opelika High School", existed in Opelika as early as the 1860s, the current Opelika High School wasn't founded until 1911. From 1902 to 1911, Opelika offered classes through the 10th grade at the Opelika Public School, but was not able to afford a high school. A 1907 law called for the formation of a "county high school" in each county run by the county board of education; when the state high school commission looked to establish such a high school in Lee County in 1911, only Opelika applied, and so the school was located there. This school's opening in the fall of 1911 marks the founding of Opelika High School. In 1914, Auburn High School successfully petitioned the state high school commission to take the county flagship status as the "Lee County High School" away from Opelika, starting the two schools long-standing rivalry, and the Opelika school became officially known as "Opelika High School" for the first time, operating as a town school.
Opelika kept the old county high school building until 1917. On Saturday, January 20, 1917, Opelika High School burned to the ground. The two prior private schools in Opelika named "Opelika High School" also burned, in 1867 and in 1894. For the next year, classes were held in the old Opelika Public School building, until a new structure could be built on the same grounds. With the new building, Opelika High School was renamed in 1918 Henry G. Clift High School, after the then-mayor of Opelika. Opelika High School football started in 1922, with OHS falling to Alexander City (today Benjamin Russell) 71-0 in both schools' first ever game. It would be 1925 before Opelika High met Auburn High for the first time on the gridiron, a 21-6 loss; the Bulldogs and Tigers have met each year in football since 1933, with the OHS leading the overall series 42-38-3.
In 1959, Opelika High moved into a new building on Denson Drive, and was subsequently renamed "Opelika High School" again. In 1972, OHS moved again, this time into the current facility on LaFayette Parkway.
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