There has been a school at 211 Second Street in Jasper since 1851, when the Jasper Collegiate Institute, the first local center for higher learning, opened under the direction of noted East Texas educator Marcus Montrose, a graduate of Edinburgh University.
After losses caused by the Civil War (1861-1865), it was succeeded in 1878 by the Southeast Texas Male and Female College, which attained enviable status and enjoyed the financial support of the citizens of Jasper before closing in 1910.
Those college properties, including a new building erected in 1900, were deeded to Jasper's elementary and high schools.

The three-story building many remember was built during World War 1, with other buildings to follow, including the two-story building that now houses classes and administrative offices for Jasper Junior High School.  

The campus housed Jasper High School until 1976, when the high school grades moved on to the current campus on Bulldog Avenue and the junior high grades moved from Rowe over to 211 Second Street.