Stephens-Lee alumni to Celebrate 100 years of the ‘Castle on the Hill’

Asheville -- Stephens-Lee Alumni Association’s biennial alumni reunions offer a chance to reminisce

about days in the “Castle on the Hill” with former schoolmates, but this year’s celebration marks 100 years since the first class graduated from a school that became well-known across the southeast for its excellence in academics, athletics, and the arts. The final graduation took place in 1965, but the school’s legacy continues as its gym was converted into a community center in the 1970s.      

“The alumni association is attempting to reach every alumnus from our beloved Stephens-Lee High School,” according to Sarah Weston Hart, president of the association. “Your attendance will be a memorable experience to celebrate, reminisce, and fellowship with alumni, family, and friends. Please do not miss out on your opportunity to participate in this wonderful celebration.”

The reunion celebration takes place at Stephens-Lee Community Center July 5-7, 2024, and carries the theme, “100 Years and Still Stepping (Let us Never Forget) the ‘Castle on the Hill.’” Highlights include a memorial service and Class Night on Friday; an official alumni meeting, banquet, and dance on Saturday; and cook-out on Sunday.

For more information, alumni may direct questions to Stephens-Lee Alumni Association President Sarah Hart at (828) 279-7300 or Alberta Williams at (828) 215-1191, or contact their graduating class president. Stephens-Lee Community Center is located on 30 George Washington Carver Avenue in Asheville.

Stephens-Lee High School opened during the 1922-1923 academic year, but the first graduation took place in 1924. From the moment it opened, the Academic Gothic style building became a center for Black culture, education, and athletics throughout the North Carolina mountains. When one of the only other high schools for Black students in the region burned down, students made a daily four-and-a-half-hour trip in an unheated bus from Yancey County to attend the school. With the only remaining Black high school in the area located in Hendersonville, Stephens-Lee attracted students from throughout western North Carolina. More on the former school and current community center’s history can be found in this article.

Image Credit: article Park Views: Stephens-Lee Community Center

Throughout the school year, concerts, art exhibits, plays, modern dance recitals, and chorus performances were presented to capacity crowds. Thriving on its connection to the community, the school’s trade classes even built houses in the surrounding neighborhood, some of which are still occupied today. Paul Dusenberry organized the school’s marching band in 1938. History teacher Madison “Doc” Lennon took over its direction in 1941 and the Stephens-Lee marching band thrilled locals with jazzy music, high-stepping drum majors, and talented majorettes for the next quarter century.

The school also produced a number of prominent scholars with graduates excelling in their fields, becoming community leaders, teachers, entrepreneurs, lawyers, civil servants, entertainers, ministers, and athletes, among other occupations.