Turner Ashby High School

When Turner Ashby High School opened in the fall of 1956, it became the third consolidated high school in Rockingham County. Schools consolidated were Bridgewater, Dayton, and Mt. Clinton. The original Turner Ashby building was located on a twenty-acre plot on the north side of Dayton, and now serves grades six through eight as Wilbur S. Pence Middle School.

The name Turner Ashby High School was selected by the Rockingham County School Board because of the school’s location in the Ashby District of the county. The Ashby District was named for General Turner Ashby, a native of Fauquier County, who served as cavalry commander for Stonewall Jackson for the first year of the American Civil War. Ashby was killed in battle near Harrisonburg just prior to Jackson's victories at Cross Keys and Port Republic and the culmination of the 1862 Valley Campaign.

The original building was designed and constructed for grades eight through twelve. The approximate cost of the school was $1,000,000.00. Classroom additions were added in 1960 and 1962. Mobile units were added for classroom use in 1973, 1975, and 1980. Also, beginning in 1966, the eighth grade was moved to the John Wayland Intermediate School, now John Wayland Elementary School.

Turner Ashby High School moved into its new and present facility on Route 42 north of Bridgewater in the fall of 1989. The new facility, including site development, furnishings, building, etc. was built for approximately $15,300,000.00.

This modern facility has more cafeteria, music, athletic, storage, and classroom areas designed to serve up to 1200 students. Three mobile units were added for classroom use in 1998, and five more were added in 2000.

During the 2001-2002 school year and the following summer, a new wing was added to the 1989 building. This addition added 20+ new classrooms including 4 new science rooms and another general purpose computer lab. Along with the addition of the new wing, the library was expanded and a girls’ team room was added.

• F. N. Postlethwait - 1956-1961
• W. Carl Yowell - 1961-1964
• E. Cameron Miller - 1964-1969
• Samuel Ritchie - 1969-1992
• Michael Loso - 1992-1997
• Delmer Botkin - 1997-2005
• Steven Walk - 2005–2015
• Phil Judd - 2015–present

• Art
• Association for Computing Machinery
• Creative Writing
• Effective School-wide Discipline / Student Connections
• Distributive Education Clubs of America
• Diversity
• Drama
• Family, Career and Community Leaders of America
• Forensics
• French
• Future Business Leaders of America
• Future Educators Association
• Future Farmers of America
• NAC
• National Honors Society
• Pre-Medical
• Ruri-Teen
• Technology Student Association
• Tri-M / Musical Heritage Society
• Science
• SkillsUSA
• Spanish
• Sports Medicine
• STARS
• Student Council Association
• Yearbook
• Youth and Government

• Alan Knicely (Class of 1973) - former MLB player (Houston Astros, Cincinnati Reds, Philadelphia Phillies, St. Louis Cardinals)
• Clint Curry (Class of 1982) - former baseball player in the Texas Rangers minor league affiliates
• Ian Ostlund (Class of 1997) - former baseball player for the Detroit Tigers and St. Louis Cardinals minor league affiliates
• Brian Bocock (Class of 2003) - former Major League Baseball player for the San Francisco Giants, and minor league affiliates for the Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates, Toronto Blue Jays, and Kansas City Royals

• Turner Ashby High School