Mr. Clifford Bernard Nixon (1900-1993) was born in Wilmington, North Carolina in 1900. After graduating from the Gregory Normal Institute, a private school operated by the American Missionary Association, he went on to receive a Bachelor of Science with honors in science and mathematics and a Master of Arts in Administration from Columbia University in New York. He was asked to come to Durham County by the Durham County Supervisor for Negro Schools in 1927 to teach fourth through seventh grades at Lillian School before moving to an appointment as principal at Mill Grove School in 1929. While serving as principal, he taught eighth and ninth grades. He advocated for tenth grade to be added to Mill Grove, and then eleventh. As quoted in his obituary, "He just kept adding classes on to Mill Grove School so that blacks could recieve a high school education". He was still principal when the Mill Grove High School was accredited by the State Department of Public Instruction in 1934. 

In the late 1920s and early 1930s, Mr. Nixon saw the need for establishing a high school in the northern part of Durham County. He helped organize the Durham County Commissioners and the Rural Improvement Association, which consisted of parents and teachers who were committed to having a new Black high school built in northern Durham County. On June 4, 1934, he led a delegation of between 150-200 members of the community to Durham City Hall to petition for a new high school. After spending the entire day meeting with the school board and the County Commissioners, they agreed to set aside $15,000 in the budget for a new Black high school. Groundbreaking at Little River School happened in the summer of 1934, and the school opened for students on November 4, 1935. Mr. Nixon was appointed principal. 

On Easter Monday 1939 at 4:00 in the morning, a blaze was discovered at Little River High School. The main building was mysteriously burned down, and the cause remained unknown. Classes were dispersed among different churches and schools in the wider community, with the high school meeting back at Mill Grove. However, insurance payments and the county provided funding for the school to be rebuilt and enlarged. 

In the 30 years that Mr. Nixon served as principal at Little River High School there were many changes and additions made to the school. In 1942, high school graduation changed from eleventh to twelfth grade, and a twelfth grade was added. In the early 1950s another wing was added to the school, quickly followed by another in 1957. A dedicated cafeteria and vocational education building was also added. Students were recognized at the state, regional, and even national level for their accomplishments. The school newspaper, the Little River Hi-Tide, was an award-winning member of the Southeastern Scholastic Press Association in 1961, and the school’s basketball team won the state championships for four years in the 1960s.

Mr. Nixon retired from his position June 30,1965, after 30 years with Little River School and more than 38 years with Durham County Schools. Mr. Nixon passed away on July 26, 1993.

On Monday, April 10, 1939 a fire destroyed the main building of Little River School. People living nearby saw the blaze when they woke up around 4:00 that morning. When they rushed to the scene, they discovered that the roof was falling in and the building could not be saved. The fire only burned down the main structure and did not damage the three classroom home economics and agriculture building. The county carried insurance on the school, but there was some debate over whether it would be rebuilt. However, insurance paid for 90 percent of the reconstruction, and it was rebuilt and reopened in the following year. The reconstruction included an addition of three more classrooms, as well as on-site living quarters for a custodian to deter other incidents. 

The fire was suspected to be arson, but no responsible party was ever discovered. For the remaining three weeks of the school year, students were dispersed to the home economics and agriculture building, as well as nearby locations including Russell School, Mt. Cavalry Baptist Church, Mill Grove School, and Orange Grove Baptist Church.

Little River School, like the majority of schools in the United States during World War II, was deeply involved in the war effort at home. This is reflected during their annual Harvest Festival in 1943, when Dr. James Edagr Shepard, founder and president of North Carolina Central University (then called the North Carolina College for Negroes), was invited as the keynote speaker. Dr. Shepard spoke on the subject "What is the Duty of the Public School?", stating that the first duty was "to show loyalty to the American Government". This speech, which carried on to state that "the American flag cannot wave unless we treat each citizen as he ought to be treated" and "every man, woman, and child are entitled to a better age", was fairly common rhetoric for the early 1940s as America was embroiled in World War II and the resulting nationwide War Production Program.

World War II put a heavy burden on manufacturing in the United States, with many manufactured goods going to support the war effort. Overseen at the federal level by the War Production Board, The War Production Program's purpose was to convert factories from civilian manufacturing to producing military weapons and equipment, as well as to conserve materials like metal, petroleum products, rubber, paper, and kitchen fat. It also sponsored local programs to help produce agricultural products, encourage repair and recycling, and collect materials to support the war effort. 

The War Production Program at Little River School was sponsored by the Vocational Agriculture Department, held 18 classes in 1943 with an enrollment of 259 adults. The program produced 6,299 chickens, at least 12,341 quarts of canned vegetables and meats, and repaired or made $1,850 worth of farm machinery and tools. 

The Veterans Farming Training Program was established in the 1940s at Little River School in order to help train returning World War II veterans on vocational agricultural techniques. More than sixty veterans are pictured in this photograph, which attests to the popularity of this program at the school. This program was a sponsored benefit of the G.I. Bill, signed into law in 1944, which entitled anyone with ninety days of service to one year of education or vocational training, including agricultural education. Each additional month of service earned one month of schooling, up to a maximum of four years. State departments of education signed agreements with the Veterans Administration following the war to provide funds to operate the programs, which were held at secondary schools and trained more than 25,000 veteran farmers in North Carolina alone. However, despite the desegregation of the United States military in 1948, these programs remained segregated. Programs for Black farmers were only offered in 99 schools, and only 5,000 Black veterans were able to access the training by 1950.¹

Little River School put on many performances and exhibitions for the community, including their annual Harvest and Field Day Festivals, Glee Club, Drama, and dance performances, and other regular events. They had an active PTA association, and both students and parents were expected to be involved in the life of the school. Thelma Lunsford, the co-editor of the school newspaper The Little River Hi-Tide, wrote an editorial in the December 1961 edition² emphasizing the place of the school as "one of the most important institutions in our community", encouraging more students and parents to be involved in both student and parent organizations, and scolding the parents and students who remained uninvolved in wider school-sponsored activities. 

Students at Little River High School were involved in events in their community and nationwide. One student, Veula Jones, was a winner of the National World Peace Speaking Contest at Little River School for her 1965 speech "The United Nations and the Maintenance of World Peace". She, along with other contest winners in North Carolina, won an all-expense paid trip to visit the United Nations in New York. Social studies students at the school had the opportunity to attend a speech by President John F. Kennedy when he visited the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on October 12, 1961. 

Little River School hosted events like CPAC tournaments and art exhibits for National Children's Book Week. They sponsored students to participate in events like the Annual Science Seminar in 1963, which toured universities in the Triangle to expose students to the different branches of science. They sponsored the Glee Club's invitation to the North Carolina State Music Festival after winning the District Music Festival. 

Local churches were deeply involved with the life of Little River School. When the school was destroyed by fire, many local churches offered their buildings to host classes for the elementary grades. Pastors and other church leaders spoke at school events, supported commencement exercises, and encouraged students to continue their education beyond high school.