[2] Due to this law, Randolph County High School (then Wedowee Normal College) was opened September 6, 1910, with a total of 81 students.

[3][5] On August 30, 1938, the Randolph County Board of Education purchased 12 acres of land for $1,000 from the estate of J.H.

[8] As a result, Humphries was placed on paid leave (pending an investigation) by the school board.

[6][9] The prom took place on April 23, 1994, but some students attended an alternative dance arranged by civil rights leaders.

[10] Alabama Governor Jim Folsom offered $10,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those who set the fire.

[11] Officials of the Alabama State Fire Marshal's office and the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms studied the rubble for three days.

Media outlets such as Jet magazine referenced the racial dispute from earlier in the year;[12] however, authorities would not say if the fire was linked.

The head of the Justice Department's civil rights division said the school board's decision to reassign Humphries to an administrative job, coordinating the rebuilding of the high school, satisfied the Federal agency's goal of relieving racial hostility.

[15] June 1, 1995, the FBI arrested Christopher Lynn Johnson, son of a black protest leader, in connection with the burning.

In interviews, Humphries admitted to removing personal and school items from his office and purchasing gasoline.

"[16] Prosecutors presented no physical evidence linking Johnson to the fire, so he was acquitted in the Federal court.