History of Roane County High School

Kingston, Tennessee, was established on October 23, 1799, and named after Major Robert King, an officer at Fort Southwest Point (a federal frontier outpost in the 1790s). Kingston is not only the second oldest city in Tennessee, but it also served as the state capital for one day on September 21, 1807. 

Roane County High School began as the Rittenhouse Academy in 1882 and was later given to the Roane County government for use in public education sometime before 1900. In 1905 the Roane County Court established Roane County High School as the first high school in the city of Kingston, TN. Since that time in 1905, RCHS has operated continuously, although early records are scarce due to a fire in 1917. 

To this day, Roane County High School is perfectly situated in a way that overlooks the  beautiful and historic town of Kingston, nestled between Watts Bar Lake and one of the only seven antebellum courthouses remaining in Tennessee.