ClassicSchools.com
Notes we don't want to lose about closed high schools

Eastman High School — Enfield, North Carolina

Posted by DaveSanders | North Carolina | Posted on December 23rd, 2009

Eastman High School building
(click image for Google Street View)

Enfield, NC
Halifax County
Population: approx. 2,300

Established in 1740, Enfield is the oldest town in Halifax County (from Town of Enfield website).

Links
– Six Degrees of Enfield, NC Separation on Facebook
– Eastman alumni at Classmates.com

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Eastman High School
20212 Hwy 48
Enfield, NC 27823

mascot: Kodiaks
colors: Royal Blue & White

Except for the handful of tidbits below, I couldn’t find out much about Eastman High School. A ClassicSchools.com blog reader informed me that Eastman High School was consolidated into Southeast Halifax High School and Northwest High School in 1982.

The Eastman High School building is now the home of Eastman Middle School.

At the March 6, 1950 meeting of the Halifax County Board of Education, the chairman and superintendent reported that the State Review Panel had approved the revised plan for school building projects that included…completion of an auditorium, gymnasium and six classrooms for the Eastman School…for an estimated cost of $88,000.

The office building and gym were built in 1951.
The 800 building was built in 1955.
The 600 & 700 buildings were built in 1959.
The cafeteria was built in 1968.
The shop was built in the 1970′s.

Eastman High School Athletics:
Without a football field, Eastman played all its games on the road.
1974 – Eastman High School led the state in several categories:
- Most Points Allowed, Season (497, 55.2 points-per-game)
- Most Points Allowed, Single Game (lost 98-0 to Gaston)
- Most Times Shut Out (8 times out of 9 games played)
1979 – Gumberry High School broke its 59-game losing streak by defeating Eastman High School, 22-0.

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Update 3/6/2010:
In the original post about Eastman High School, I made this statement:
Also, at a football reunion for another school, one old-timer distinctly remembered playing a game against the “Eastman Kodaks”. Was the nickname really Kodaks at one time or did his memory fail?
Astute reader B.Goins offered this explanation:
Eastman High School’s mascot indeed used to be The Kodak and there is a Kodak camera etched on my class ring (1977). My understanding is that George Eastman (inventor of the Kodak camera) granted them the land to build the school on, thus the name. The mascot was later changed to the Kodiak bear (there was a vote on the name change by the student body but nobody I knew voted for the change). We liked the uniqueness of the Kodak camera as our mascot. Their reason was that our teams were teased when playing other schools, i.e, “here come those cameras, come take our picture”. I am sure that the powers that be decided to change the name of their own volition and student votes on the issue was a meaningless exercise. Eastman was a wonderful school with good teachers attended mostly by African-Americans and Haliwa Indians.

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We are looking for more information about Eastman High School. When was it opened? Who were some notable graduates? Notable athletes? School accomplishments? Please leave your memories in the comments below.