In 1910, Covington erected a building at the corner of South College and West Sherrod Street for use as a high school. It opened in 1911 and was named Byars-Hall High School (BHHS) after Judge James T. Byars, the headmaster of the male high school in Covington, and Captain James I. Hall, the headmaster of Mountain Academy at Mt. Carmel.

Byars-Hall High School in 1954

Byars-Hall was a joint county and city high school of the first class and was operated under the state law governing county high schools. It offered four-year courses of study which prepared its students for college and the practical duties and responsibilities of life. In 1921, Byars-Hall was declared an A-1 (highest classification) high school, one of only seven A-1 schools throughout the state of Tennessee. Throughout its existence, Byars-Hall maintained a high academic standing and achieved great successes in both academics and athletics. Byars-Hall graduates number more than 3600.

The school operated from 1911 to 1970 as Byars-Hall High School. In 1970, Tipton County Schools was instructed to fully integrate its schools, leading the Board of Education to combine Frazier High School, the city’s Black high school, with Byars-Hall, forminga new high school they named Covington High School.