Owings Mills High School opened in 1978-79 school year. Originally envisioned as a middle school and later a junior-senior high school, the facility is now an international high school serving students from dozens of nations along with the local community.
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The community of Owings Mills was first inhabited by Native Americans. In 1740 Samuel Owings, a Welsh immigrant, settled in the Greenspring Valley area. By the end of the 18th century, Samuel Owings II constructed three mills in Gwynns Falls. The 19th century brought great change to Owings Mills including the advent of the local Western Maryland Railroad station.
Construction for Owings Mills Junior-Senior High School began in 1978. Students were housed temporarily at Pikesville Junior High and Sudbrook Middle School during the construction. Owings Mills opened in February, 1979 as a junior-senior high for grades 7-12. However, during the first year, there was no twelfth grade class. The class of 1980 was the first class to graduate from Owings Mills and the class of 1991 was the last class that attended Owings Mills High from grades 7-12. It became a traditional high school after that year.
The Owings Mills community is a rapidly growing area in Baltimore County and is a microcosm of urban America with a large variety of cultural and ethnic groups. Owings Mills High is also an ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) Center for the northwestern portion of Baltimore County.