On December 19, 1794 the General Assembly of Virginia enacted that “200 acres (0.81 km2) of land, the property of Thomas Lewis (a part of the General Andrew Lewis Grant) at the mouth of the Great Kanawha River in the said County of Kanawha, as they are already laid off into lots and streets, shall be established a town by the name of Point Pleasant, and Leonard Cooper, John Van Bibber, Isaac Tyler, William Owens, William Allyn, John Reynolds, Allen Prior, George Clendenin, and William Morris, gentlemen, appointed trustees thereof.” When the town was laid off at the junction of the Ohio and Great Kanawha Rivers, a lot was given by Thomas Lewis as a site for a school building.
In 1897 the nucleus of a library was secured and since 1904, through the energy of superintendents, principals, teachers and boards of education, has been increased to 950 volumes of carefully selected material.
At an early date in history of Point Pleasant provisions were made for a high school, but the organization was not perfected until 1890.
The grade teachers were: Misses Margaret Moriarty, Eva Hughes, Lissie Hogg, Nora Sommerville, Lillian Kincade, Virginia Behan and Nannie E. Jarrot.
A card system of keeping the records at the high school was devised, music and art were added to the curriculum, the teaching force was increased, and optional courses were offered.
During the period 1922-1933, under the leadership of Superintendent A.T. Stanforth and his successors, Mercer L. Williams and Peter H. Steenbergen the high school enrollment was very materially increased until practically every magisterial district in the county was represented by from two to fifty six students.
It was built through the cooperation of Mrs. Sarah A. McCulloch, a group of forward-looking citizens, the City Council and Board of Education.
The cottage was built and equipped with the idea of placing the work in Domestic Science and Art under conditions as similar to the house surroundings as possible.
The activities of the literary societies, which have been under the supervision of Miss Mary McCulloch for a period of thirty years, have won for the school the following honors in state contest work.
Jones) The Girl Reserves form a most active organization in the high school under the leadership of Miss Phyllis Brownell.
This club, with the help of the senior class and the radio fund, has presented the school with the red velvet curtain and the gray cyclorama that adorn the stage.
Under the direction of Miss Edith Jordan the club has won first place in the state contest at Morgantown, Peggy McCulloch having first in essay.
Edith Kenny and Elaine Burdette won two first places in debate in the district contest held at Huntington.
Both boys and girls, under the excellent training of Miss Elizabeth Franklin and Mr. Isaac Lewis, have highly developed program of interscholastic and intramural sports.
Athletics, such as football, baseball, tennis, wrestling, boxing, and track have long been a part of the co-curricular activities and have been conducted by such able instructors as Leidig, Williams, Law, Van Meter, Hickman, Martin, Harrick and Lewis.
In 1926 Point Pleasant High School won first place in the Quadrangle Track and Field meet in Pomeroy, Ohio and received a handsome loving cup.
There have been many excellent Boards of Education and fine teachers who are training have shaped the lives of Mason County for generations.
Caudill filled the vacancy caused by the death of Mr. Lewis) Point Pleasant High School seems to be firmly launched on a great period of growth.
The crowded conditions make it absolutely necessary to have more room if the high school continues to grow in size and efficiency.
Hardesty—History of Mason County John P. Hale—Trans-Allegheny Pioneers Virgil A. Lewis—History and Government of West Virginia Peter H. Steenbergen—Point Pleasant Independent School District (1887–1933) Bertha Steinbach and Mary McCulloch—History of Point Pleasant High School, 1907 Work of 1935 Senior Class, under the direction of Miss Leta Ball, head of the History Department.
The Big Blacks waited 35 seasons before making it back to the state tourney, finally doing so in 2007 under the guidance of head coach James Higginbotham.
In 1926, the team made it to the West Virginia AA State Tournament, losing in the championship game to Elkins High.
They made it again to the state tournament in the 1958/59 season behind leading scorers Dale Miller, Rusty Wamsley, and Jimmy Joe Wedge, once again losing in the championship game, this time to Nuttall High School.
However, the team has fallen on hard times recently and in the 2006/07 season, under the direction of head coach Richie Blain, they finished with a record of 3-19.
They had not known extended success until 2005, when head coach Casby (Mitch) Meadows led them to their first winning record since the 1995-96 season.
Despite losing their first six games of the 2007/08 season, the Lady Knights rallied to win 10 of their final 15 to finish with a record of 11-12, including a mark of 6-8 in conference play.
In 2007, the team enjoyed great success in the regular season, winning 26 games, but suffered a major disappointment when they lost in the regional semi-finals.
He was selected to play in the North South All-Star game and received a four-year scholarship to West Virginia University.
Jack Rogers- Rogers was a coach, sportswriter, and devoted fan of Point Pleasant athletics for over 40 years.
Charles "Happy" Kenny- Kenny was Point Pleasant's version of Jim Thorpe, as he excelled in all athletic events.