Burt High School

The Tigers played in black and gold. In 1937 the school won first place at the Tennessee State University High School Symposium and drew national attention, and in 1961 its basketball team won the National Negro High School championship. For much of its life it was the only high school open to Black students in Montgomery County. L. M. Ellis, a star of that basketball program, made the state and national all-tournament teams and entered the Austin Peay Hall of Fame. In 2024 the building was being repurposed.

What the plaque says

Burt High School Burt High School, an African American school, opened in 1923 on E. Franklin Street. It was named for Dr. Robert T. Burt, an African American physician and influential resident who established Clarksville's first hospital. A new school was built on Bailey Street in 1952 and retained the name of Dr. Burt. The high school served Montgomery County, as well as surrounding counties. Frequently used by the Black community for club meetings and special events, Burt High School closed in 1970. Wilma Rudolph, winner of three Olympic Gold Medals in 1960, was a Burt High graduate. The school re-opened as Burt Elementary School in 1980.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Fort Defiance Civil War Park and Interpretive Center — 1.3 mi
  An intact earthwork fort above the Cumberland and Red Rivers in Clarksville, begun with forced Black labor and later a contraband camp and recruiting center for Black soldiers.
• Dunbar Cave State Park — 2.9 mi
  A Clarksville cave with 800-year-old Mississippian artwork, later a resort and Roy Acuff's dance stage, now a state park with seasonal guided tours.
• Cross Creeks National Wildlife Refuge — 25 mi
  An 8,862-acre refuge on the Cumberland River floodplain near Dover, made in 1962 to replace habitat Lake Barkley flooded, wintering tens of thousands of waterfowl.

More markers nearby

• Austin Peay State University — 0.4 mi
• Robert Loftin Newman — 0.5 mi
• Emerald Hill — 0.7 mi
• Trinity Episcopal Church — 0.7 mi