The school gained its current name in 1958 in honor of John Motley Morehead III, the grandson of John Motley Morehead, who donated to a number of projects for the school.

Later, it was removed and re-established at Rockingham Community College located in Wentworth, North Carolina.

Morehead provides students a variety of subjects and courses to take for either a standard or advanced diploma such as Math, science, Social Studies, English, and also Foreign language classes, Theater Arts etc.

Morehead also has a Health Science Program MHS is a part of the North Carolina High School Athletic Association (NCHSAA) and competes in the 3A Mid-State Conference.

"Fall Sports": Cross country, Football, Volleyball "Winter Sports ": Boys' JV Basketball, Boys' Varsity Basketball, Girls' JV Basketball, Girls' Varsity Basketball, co-ed Swimming, Wrestling "Spring Sports": Boys' JV Baseball, Boys' Varsity Baseball, Girls' JV Softball, Girls' Varsity Softball, co-ed Track The Morehead Panthers wrestling team won the NCHSAA 3A dual team state championship in 1998, 1999, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2014, and 2016.