McCormick County Honors Mims’ Legacy of Building Community

McCormick County Council representatives were joined by members of the community on a chilly December morning to honor the legacy of Dr. William Samuel Mims with the opening of the W.S. Mims Activity Center.  

County Council Chairman Charles Jennings did the honors Dec. 19 and cut the ribbon on the new activity center, invoking Mims’ lifelong motto, “Good, better, best, but never let it rest until good is better and better is best.” 

The newly renovated activity center was formerly the site of Mims High School, and several alumni were in attendance for the ribbon cutting. 

The project, helmed by DP3 Architects and Kuhlke Construction, transformed the 26,760-square-foot former Mims High School into a multipurpose community center with restored basketball and volleyball courts, renovated locker rooms, multiple classrooms and multi-use spaces, a meeting room, a new concession area and a new cafeteria. The project also included the addition of a parking lot. 

“The W.S. Mims Activity Center is more than a building,” said DP3 Architects Principal and Community Studio Leader Mike Pry. “This space will serve as a hub for connection, learning and celebration for years to come.” 

The W.S. Mims Activity Center pays homage to Mims’ dedication to education through community. Beginning in the late 1920s, he led the charge to create a system of schools in McCormick County where Black children could receive an education regardless of what church they attended. Mims established four public schools for Black children, including Mims High School. The school served as an all-Black high school from 1954 until 1970, when it was integrated and renamed McCormick High School.