It was the brainchild of local industrialist Samuel Paterson and was intended to be the centerpiece of the entire Roanoke Rapids community.

It is in the Tudor Revival or Gothic style and draws qualities of the Universities of Cambridge and Oxford in the United Kingdom.

It is a 3+1⁄2-story, nine-bay, T-shaped building with a combination flat-top and slate gable roof and a projecting, crenellated entrance tower.

The Yellow Jackets were the Class B, Baseball State Champions in 1932 and 1935.

They have football, baseball, softball, swimming, wrestling, volleyball, track and field, cross country, soccer, basketball, tennis, golf, and cheerleading programs.