During the expansion of the Cannon Mills Corporation during the 1920s, James William Cannon donated a piece of land just east of the town for a school. Central High School would be built in 1924, about the same time, a new Concord High School opened. Later in 1930, Central High School was renamed J. W. Cannon High School, in honor of James William Cannon. In 1933, the school burned down, and was rebuilt in 1934. In 1951, the school was renamed A. L. Brown High School, and the school moved to a new building southeast of the old facility. The former building was converted into a junior high school, under the name Cannon Junior High School.