History

Photo of Winterville Academy in 1902 on the same site where A.G. Cox Middle now exists.

The Neuse Missionary Baptist Association selected the town of Winterville to be the site for its high school, The Winterville Academy, around 1900. A four acre plot of land was donated for the location of the school by two prominent Winterville citizens, Amos U. Cox and Dr. B.T. Cox. Students from the surrounding communities traveled daily by horse and buggy, bicycle, or on foot. Those who lived a greater distance were boarded at the school. A boys’ and girls’ dormitory existed on the premises as did housing for the teachers. By 1908 the school had expanded to four buildings and a seven acre campus. After several disastrous fires, the school which was now called Winterville High School reopened in the fall of 1920 and was now operated by the state of North Carolina. A new high school was built in 1935, and the existing building became the elementary school. Since 1935 many additions and improvements have been made to the school. When a new high school was built in the 1970’s, the school was converted to a junior high school and was renamed A.G. Cox in honor of one of its benefactors. In the 1990’s A.G. Cox Junior High was transformed to A.G. Cox Middle School. Today our sixth grade classes, office, one computer lab, and media center are housed in the original Winterville High School building which was constructed in 1935.