The first Blacksburg High School was located in the former Blacksburg Female Academy building downtown on the block between Draper Road (formerly Water Street) on the east and Otey Street on the west; and between Roanoke and Jackson Streets (on the south and north respectively). The Female academy was created in the 1840s by an act of the Virginia General Assembly. By 1908, the Female Academy had closed and the town had established public school at that location. A yearbook and other published data bearing the name Blacksburg High School exists from the time when the school occupied the Female Academy building. In 1916, a dedicated high school building was constructed in the same block adjacent to Otey Street. Photographs in the Virginia Tech collection from the 20s and 40s show this building and the structure itself bears a cornerstone dated 1916. Today the building is owned and used by Virginia Tech.