It was designed by noted Ohio architect Frank Packard (1866–1923), and built in 1917, making it one of the oldest school buildings in West Virginia.

[8] PHS continued to serve as the only high school in Parkersburg, at one point holding a population of around three thousand students.

This in turn started a rivalry between the two schools that continues to be one of the largest and most famous in the state of West Virginia.

The Burroughs computer required a huge, temperature controlled room of its own, and had a memory capacity of 640 Kb—considered top-of-the-line then.

[failed verification][10] in 1967, upon completion of the second high school, the computer center was re-located to the new building.

[citation needed] PHS is home to musical ensembles that are regarded as some of the most successful in the state.

This led to the formation of West Virginia's first A Cappella Choir in 1932, as a way to present advanced music without accompaniment.

The robes are a white cotta (or surplice) worn over a red cassock, similar in form to Roman Catholic or Episcopal altar boy or chorister vestments, and have remained the same since the inception of the choir.

The concert ends with the "Hallelujah Chorus" from Handel's Messiah, where all alumni come up to sing with the choir.

The Parkersburg High School A Cappella Choir has performed for two presidents: Harry S Truman in 1949 and Lyndon B Johnson in 1966.

The choir was selected as an honor ensemble for the 2000, 2002, 2005, 2018, and 2023 West Virginia Music Education Association annual conference.

[17] The concert and jazz band traveled to New Orleans for the Heritage Festival national competition in the 2004–2005 school year.

[citation needed] The band performed for Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush during their visits to Parkersburg as presidents of the United States.

[18] With active drama, dance and forensics programs, the fine arts department at Parkersburg High School is widely recognized as one of the best and fastest growing in the state.

Drama Club members work towards earning enough Thespian "points" in order to be inducted into the troupe at a ceremony which takes place at the end of each school year.

Other past directors include Connie Brant, Heather Gates-Rusher, Amanda Witt, and current teacher Lori Zyla.

Past PHS productions include No Exit, Dinny and the Witches, Interview, The Serpent, Comings and Goings, War, Charlie's Aunt, The Boy Friend, Box & Cox, The Acting Lesson, Shakespeare Unbound, Love Death and the Prom, The End of Civilization As We Know It, Seven Murders and It's Only Monday, A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Wizard of Oz, The Long Red Herring, Our Town, Small Actors, French Toast, The Great Pandemonium, The Empty Chair, The Crucible, Imaginary Harry, Little Shop of Horrors, A Piece of My Heart, Grease, FREAK, 4 a.m., Alice in Wonderland, Hard Candy, Night of the Living Dead, Radium Girls, Damn Yankees, The Wedding Singer, Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind, The Haunting of Hill House, The Insanity of Mary Gerrard, Things Fall (Meanwhile), The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Once Upon a Mattress, Clowns with Guns, Carrie: the Musical, Midsummer Jersey, Don’t Fear the Reaper, Black Comedy, Addams Family the Musical, and Peter/Wendy.

In 1971, under the direction of the late John Lee, Thespian Troupe #264 won best play for both the regional and state drama festival for Comings and Goings.

In 2009, under the direction of Amanda Witt, Thespian Troupe #264 placed in the top five schools at the West Virginia Thespian Festival in the one-act play competition against thirteen other schools statewide for their performance of Bradley Hayward's Imaginary Harry.

For her win in Solo Musical Performance, Danielle Grays was invited to compete at the International Thespian Festival in June 2010.

Along with learning about the history and application of dance around the world, dance students also perform at multiple venues such as the annual Justo Lamas concerts presented for Spanish language students and the Parkersburg High School Talent shows.

Both teams travel and compete together around the state and at a "home" Tournament dubbed the Isenhart Invitational in spring.

The Forensics Team sponsors various fundraisers including the Mister and Miss PHS Pageants held in April.

In 2008, three competitors from the PHS Speech Team won at the state level in their respective "events" (Original Oratory and Duo Interpretation) and a bid to compete at the Grand National Tournament in Appleton, Wisconsin where all three did well, but did not "octofinal" or go on to place nationally.

All-Americans are students with exceptional combined achievements in GPA, Test Scores and NFL (National Forensics League) points earned through performance at tournaments.

In 2017, six of Parkersburg High School's students qualified at the state level and went on to compete in the Catholic League Grand National Tournament in Louisville, Kentucky.

Parkersburg High School consistently beats the state averages on standardized tests.

PHS was rated by Sports Illustrated as the #9 sports high school of all time due to its long winning traditions and graduates such as Earl "Greasy" Neale, who is in the Football Hall of Fame, as well as other graduates such as outfielder Nick Swisher of the New York Yankees (and formerly of the Chicago White Sox and Oakland Athletics), and Larry "Flash" Rhodes.