Ezekiel Ezra Smith High School has been home of the Mighty Golden Bulls since 1927. The school has been in four different locations: Orange Street, Campbell Avenue, Washington Drive, and Seabrook Rd. From 1927 to 1929, the Orange Street School served as the high school. The school was moved to the building on Campbell Avenue in September 1929. At that time, the school was known as the Southside High School. This building was used until 1932. In September 1932, the school was rehoused in the building on Orange Street, remaining there until January 1940. A new modern edifice was built on Washington Drive in 1941. This building served students until June 1954. In 1954, the current physical facility was erected and made ready for occupancy on September 6, 1954. This building with its beautiful and functional architecture occupies a site of twenty-eight acres. In 1932, the Fayetteville Grade School Trustees held a special meeting and voted unanimously to name the school in honor of the distinguished educator, clergyman and U.S. Ambassador, Ezekiel Ezra Smith, a man who left a legacy of unusually fine and constructive work. Hereafter, the school was officially designated E. E. Smith High School, trusting that the standards of the school would always be kept worthy of the name which was bestowed upon it. To date the school has had eleven principals: Benjamin Lay, W.C. Donnell, A. J. Blackburn, E. E. Miller, W. T. Brown, John R. Griffin, Jr., Lonnie McAllister, Rene' Corders, Clinton Robinson, Melody Chalmers, and the current principal Donell Underdue. In the words of C. Reid Ross, former city school superintendent, "The sole justification for this modern school plant is that it be used to provide better educational opportunities for the youth of the community." Today, the school plant consists of approximately 50 classrooms, housing foreign languages, science and computer labs, offices, a guidance suite, library, auditorium, music rooms, 2 gymnasiums, cafeteria, music building and a physical education building. The D.T. Carter Athletic Field which seats approximately 5,000 persons, has a quarter mile track, and facilities for other field events. There are also six tennis courts. In its 83 years, this school has bestowed diplomas on more than 14,000 graduates. This is not the story of a completed task; rather it should bring before us the responsibility for the vast number of youth, whose lives can be enriched by the school’s program. The alumni roster bears the names of many distinguished citizens of the nation as well as other worthy individuals who daily contribute significantly to a better quality of life in their local communities.
Notable alumni
Charlie Baggett, former NFL coach and college football coach
Patricia D. Horoho, retired U.S Army Lieutenant General and was 43rd U.S. Army Surgeon General and Commanding General of the U.S. Army Medical Command. The first female and first Nurse Corps Officer to hold those appointments.
Brian Tyree Henry, best known for his role as "Paper Boi" in the FX series Atlanta, also played in other major acting and voice roles, including Jefferson Davis in the movie
