Hamilton High School (Scottdale, Georgia)
Hamilton High School was a school for African American students in Scottdale, DeKalb County, Georgia. It opened in 1924 as Avondale Colored School, an elementary school. It later became Avondale Elementary and High School, serving younger and older students. The school closed in 1969 after desegregation.
It was renamed Hamilton High School in honor of Maud Hamilton, the former principal. The class of 1963 held a 50th reunion in 2013, and planners planned a historical marker for the site.
Hamilton started as a Rosenwald school, built with funds from Julius Rosenwald, and followed a church school for African Americans. A photograph of the school and its students appears in the book African-American Life in Dekalb County 1823-1970 by Herman “Skip” Mason Jr.
William Hatton was a principal; Hatton Drive in Scottdale is named for him. Robert Shaw donated land for the school, and Robert Shaw Elementary School is named after him.
In 1942 the school added running water, a science lab, a new piano, a library, and a telephone. Hamilton High School and Robert Shaw Elementary School were built across from each other in 1955.
In 2013 a DeKalb County proclamation said the school was the first in the county to be named after an African American.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 03:26 (CET).