The building served as Easley's first and only high school from 1909 to 1940 and was central to the early experience and training of almost every local resident of that period.

[2] Architecturally, the load-bearing masonry building in the Renaissance Revival style is significant for its early efforts to introduce steel trusses into traditional masonry-bearing wall and heavy timber construction.

From that time until its listing on the National Register, the building went through various periods of vacancy and occupation by a local furniture store for limited storage use.

[3] All but one original chimney as well as an entry porch on the building's south side had been removed, "virtually all windows and doors" and much of the plaster work were "severely deteriorated".

[3] Following a 1997 study that identified the building as a key ingredient in downtown Easley's revitalization,[4] the town engaged in a period of planning on how to return it to a place of prominence within the community.