The first classes of Texas High school's history were held in the fall of 1889 at a school built for grades 7 through 11. A small rectangular frame building, it was located on Spruce street between Sixth and Seventh Streets adjacent to a recently opened elementary school.

The system of free schools had been instituted by Texas state law, and enrollment increased from 90 to 270 at the close of the 1889-90 year.

The first graduating class in 1890 had three students: Eugenia Reed, Nina Trigg, and Jack Trigg. A photograph of the very ornate diploma presented to Miss Reed (Mrs. S. A. Collom, Sr.) now hangs in the Board Room of the Texarkana ISD Admin Building.

As the 20th century began, growth in Texarkana and high school enrollment necessitated a larger and more modern building located at 16th and Maple (now Texas Blvd.). Citizens approved a bond issue for construction of a modern facility which was occupied in 1910.

In the 1920s enrollment increased and additional facilities were again required. The new building, located at 1915 Pine Street, was completed in 1930. Also completed that year was the Texas public Schools Auditorium. Other facilities were added as the enrollment continued to grow: Tiger Gym, a cafeteria, band hall, and the B. B. Lawson Science Building.

In 1953 the Texarkana Junior College Building at the corner of Sixteenth and Pine Street was donated to the Texas High School and was immediately put to use to accommodate the growing enrollment.

In a 1963 interview, the superintendent stressed the need for a high school facility to serve the 1,100 students since the 1930 building was designed to serve 500.

In 1965 a $3,000,000-bond issue for a new high school on Kennedy Lane, just west of Summerhill Road, was approved. Designed by world-famous architects Caudill-Rowlett-Scott and local architects Moore and Thomas, the school provides students, teachers, and administrators made-to-order spaces for a broad-based educational program.

Six buildings, located on 91 acres, are grouped in a modified campus arrangement and connected by short, covered walkways.