– by the Preservation Raleigh Places in Peril Committee
As part of our mission, Preservation Raleigh highlights significant locations facing threats through our Places in Peril (PIP) initiative. Please help us advocate for these endangered or neglected properties.
This article focuses on the John W. Ligon School. Located at 706 E Lenoir Street, the school was marked for renovation in 2022 as part of Wake County’s seven-year Capital Improvement Plan. The Ligon renovation is a significant project with a budget of nearly $141 million. A key point of discussion has been whether to renovate the existing historic building or replace it with a new structure, a topic that has generated substantial community interest and debate among alumni and preservationists.
CALL TO ACTION: WCPSS School Board Member, Toshiba Rice, is hosting a community meeting to discuss Ligon Magnet Middle School’s upcoming renovation on Monday, November 24, 2025 at the Southeast Raleigh YMCA from 6:00-8:00 PM. The meeting will be co-facilitated by Ms. Rice and Superintendent Taylor. Click here to RSVP.
Why It Matters: History and Significance
John W. Ligon High School was built in 1953, at 706 E Lenoir Street, to serve Black students in the Raleigh City School System during the height of segregation.
At the time of the groundbreaking ceremony for Ligon High School in November 1951, the Raleigh City School System was still segregated. Black students were enrolled in Washington Graded and High School on Fayetteville Street, the only option for Black high school students. At the time, the number of students was increasing, and Washington no longer was able to serve both grade school and high school students. As a result, the Raleigh school system purchased land in Chavis Heights to build a new junior/senior high school to serve African-American students.
Honoring a local educator
The new high school was named for Rev. Dr. John William Ligon, a respected educator, minister and civic leader in the African-American community. Born in 1869, Ligon served his community from the pulpit, holding several pastorates, and the classroom, where he taught and served as principal for more than 25 years, including tenure at Crosby-Garfield School in southeast Raleigh from 1900 to 1919. For more information about J.W. Ligon and the c. 1914 Ligon House, see our previous blog post.
Building a school and a community
The construction of the new school, which had a price tag of nearly $1 million dollars, was the largest school construction project in North Carolina at that time. When it was completed and opened in time for the 1953-54 school year, it was touted as being a “state-of-the art facility in the ‘colored’ community for ‘colored students.’” It quickly became the centerpiece of the Chavis Heights community, and its student-body and staff were intent on living up to its motto of “Legacy of being Excellent and Legendary.”
The reality was that the new Ligon School building was “plain, spare and not as fancy as Broughton, the flagship white high school” on St. Mary’s Street in West Raleigh. But that didn’t phase Ligon’s educators and students. Instead, the Ligon High School community soon established high expectations and demanded achievement in terms of academic excellence, music, art, and sports. That stand of excellence became a source of pride for the Southeast Raleigh community.
Strong Alumni Association
Ligon High School alumni include dancer/choreographer Chuck Davis, football star and Wake County Sheriff John Baker, State Auditor Ralph Campbell, Jr., and ballet dancer Mel Tomlinson. Famous or not, many Ligon alumni praise the Ligon School and credit it as the foundation for their success.
Changes over the years
In 1973, as the city schools were beginning their long road toward integration, the Ligon school was converted into a middle school. Fewer than 10 years later, Ligon was formally consolidated into the Wake County Public School System, and was brought under the gifted and talented magnet program.
The threat
Now, more than 70 years after it opened its doors, the Ligon Magnet Middle School is in need of some extra TLC. According to the Wake County Public School System website, “Extensive efforts have been made to maintain the facility, but it has reached a point requiring work beyond basic repairs. To provide our students with the best possible learning environment, the school will be receiving major renovations.”
The WCPSS School Board allocated nearly $141 million for the Ligon Middle renovation and modernization project. However, media outlets have recently reported that the school system is considering a proposal to tear down the historic main building, rather than renovate it, and then relocate the students to a new building to be constructed down the hill. News reports also hint that the proposal to tear down the historic Ligon school building may be the only proposal now on the table. As a result, Preservation Raleigh has named Ligon School as a Place in Peril.
Call to Action:
Community Meeting: School Renovation– November 24, 2025
WCPSS School Board Member, Toshiba Rice, is hosting a community meeting to discuss Ligon Magnet Middle School’s upcoming renovation on Monday, November 24, 2025 at the Southeast Raleigh YMCA from 6:00-8:00 PM. The meeting will be co-facilitated by Ms. Rice and Superintendent Taylor. Click here to RSVP.
Resources:
The Fate Of The J.W. Ligon Building, November 12, 2025 https://caro.news/the-fate-of-the-j-w-ligon-building/
Alumni weigh in on proposed renovation of historic Ligon Magnet School, Oct 21, 2025 https://abc11.com/post/alumni-weigh-proposed-renovation-historic-ligon-magnet-school/18054084/
Alumni, community fight to preserve Ligon school ahead of $141M renovation: ‘Part of our legacy‘ October 20, 2025, https://abc11.com/post/ligon-magnet-school-alumni-fight-preserve-historically-black-raleigh/18045599/
WCPSS School Facilities Renovation Updates: https://www.wcpss.net/p/~board/renovations-school-facilities-128904/post/ligon-middle-275833-146670
Adcock, Alicia. “70th Anniversary Of J.W. Ligon Jr./Sr High School Held,” The Carolinian newspaper, 2024 Apr 27, https://caro.news/70th-anniversary-of-j-w-ligon-jr-sr-high-school-held/.
Geary, Bob. “Raleigh school explores the past on its 60th Anniversary,” Indy Week, https://indyweek.com/news/raleigh-school-explores-past-60th-anniversary/ (2014 April 9).
Haynes, Carly, “’This place needs to stay’: Redevelopment of historic Raleigh middle school gives parents concerns,” WRAL website, https://www.wral.com/news/education/redevelopment-historic-ligon-middle-school-raleigh-concerns-may-2025/ (2025 May 15)
Hui, T. Keung. “Ligon used to be Raleigh’s all-Black high school. Should building be preserved?” News & Observer, October 16, 2025 https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/ligon-used-raleigh-black-high-115555085.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAHXOANThXQtYgViz8kUMDyQ-SrkoBzUkt5ODNu5sWtdN3j054Alob1RP1rO7gMkoHeIOOGDLenYla1xsEx5gMKLxW5_STACoznrUWtxSZBY7xw54kcw0QQqKkKsbL-pS5q7XIvZBV11epukIAaUBwHMgQVEs-1DwazctoVGQLcme
“Ligon Middle,” Wake County Public School System webpage, https://www.wcpss.net/p/~board/renovations-school-facilities-128904/post/ligon-middle-275833-146670.
History of Ligon, Ligon Magnet Middle School website: https://nc01911451.schoolwires.net/Page/45919