Marker Text: Ballard-Hudson Senior High School was built in 1949 as the only high school in Macon for African Americans in grades nine through twelve. The school represents the merger of two schools: Ballard High School, a private school with roots in Lewis High School, established in 1868 by the American Missionary Association, and Hudson High School, a public industrial high school. In 1970, the same year a federal court required the integration of all public schools in Georgia, Ballard-Hudson Senior High School was reorganized and renamed. Among noted Ballard-Hudson graduates are Georgia musicians Otis Redding and "Little Richard" Penniman.
Erected by the Georgia Historical Society and the Historic Preservation Committee for the Ballard-Hudson Senior High School.