This site, still referred to as “Central,” is a place held dear by many of its alumni and residents of Oxford’s Freedmen Town — the area that encompasses the homes between North Seventh Street and Fifth Street and South Price Street to Jackson Avenue. The original school building was built in 1939 and named Oxford Training School (OTS). This name endured until 1962, when the students were instrumental in getting the name changed to Central High School, "the notion being that you train animals and educate people." The school remained Central High School until desegregation of Oxford’s public schools in February 1970.