Dreher High School

Dreher High School is a co-educational four-year public high school in Richland County School District One located in Columbia, South Carolina, United States. Dreher, established in 1938, is one of the oldest public high schools in South Carolina. In 2022, Dreher was ranked the seventh-best high school in South Carolina and 1,017th in national rankings by U.S. News & World Report. History In 1938, the third high school in Columbia was completed. It was built at 701 Adger Road on a ten-acre lot, which was once part of Governor Wade Hampton's estate, purchased for $25,000 from Burrell D. Manning. The Mechanics Contracting Company completed construction of the new building at a cost of $239,306. The new school was named for Ernest S. Dreher, who served as the second superintendent of Columbia City Schools from 1895 to 1918. Mr. Dreher was also responsible for the building initiative that led to the construction of Columbia and Booker T. Washington High Schools. The first principal, D. Leon McCormac, and five faculty members formulated the organization of the new school. Doors to the first facility opened in 1938, with a faculty of 30 and 651 students in grades 9–12. The first 123 students graduated in 1939. A new auditorium, the south wing, was completed in 1954. With the completion of this wing, Dreher was an enclosed facility with a central courtyard. Through the efforts of several classes, the courtyard became a focal point of the school, complete with statuary and a fountain. From the air, the Dreher complex had a block “D” appearance.