Formal education for Kilgore’s African American youth is recorded as early as 1873 through Kilgore Baptist church. After Kilgore residents voted on August 27, 1906, to incorporate the Kilgore Independent School District, segregated African American schools were included in the district. On this site in 1935, KISD constructed a new brick building for African American students with seven classrooms, a principal's office, book room, and 400-seat auditorium. The school expanded in 1936 with four additional classrooms and indoor plumbing, then continued to grow with a science and agriculture building in 1939, a cafeteria in 1944, and a band hall in 1954. C. B. Dansby, born in 1898, served as beloved principal for nearly twenty-five years, and during his tenure the school expanded from six grades to twelve and consolidated surrounding rural schools. He died tragically during a graduation ceremony, and the school was officially renamed in his honor in 1956. Hired after Dansby’s death, Odis H. Turner, born in 1908, served as the final principal from 1955 to 1970. Dansby High School continued to educate African American children of KISD until the district desegregated on August 8, 1970. For two years after the school closed, its buildings housed KISD specialty classes. Later, private investors purchased the property and used the campus as a multi-service facility for the community, and after the property passed to the jurisdiction of the city of Kilgore, the buildings were demolished in 2013. Although no longer standing, the Kilgore Colored and C. B. Dansby schools provided a quality education while teaching and providing love, care, and respect.