In 1936, the second Rural High School District of Coleman County was formed when the voters of the Central, White Chapel, Bowen and Valera school districts voted to consolidate for high school purposes.  The site for the new high school was selected in April 1936, and the newly created district was named Centennial.

A temporary building (wooden) was erected on thirty acres of the John and Alice (Le Sueur) Warnock land three miles north of Valera.  R. C. Moore was elected superintendent of the new district.  In January 1940, the temporary building was destroyed by fire.

In June 1940, the school received approval of a grant from the Work Projects Administration and the second school was underway.  The students went to Valera during this time.  Some of the early trustees were Bob Nixon, J. Warnock Simmons, Arch Hamilton, Gordon Pearce. P. S. Maedgen, C. L. Morris and Nuge Thompson.  Some of the first teachers were Virgil “Pete” Curry, Miss Bessie Penick, W. A. Morgan and Miss Artie Coley.  Mrs. Lydia (James) Miller was one of the first cooks at the school.

The second building was completed in 1941 and built out of rock and brick.  The gymnasium was also built in the same period, and has a plaque that reads “Work Projects Administration, 1938-40.”  The cornerstone on the school reads: 1941 Centennial High School, R. R. Nixon, President; W. F. James, Secretary; Arch Hamilton, Floyd Titsworth, A. A. Jarrell, Cecil Home, W. C. Tuckey, Trustees; O. A. Faith, Superintendent and E. J. Powell, building superintendent.  A plaque below this reads, “Work Projects Administration 1938-40.”  (The rock in these two buildings is said to have come from Bead Mountain.)  The superintendents of Centennial School were: R. C. Moore, Jim Dyer, Otto Faith, R. D. Holt, W. T. Gassiot and D. H. Grounds.  Pete Curry was principal and coach from 1937 through 1940.  W. T. Gassiot was also a coach there.  The grade school students continued to attend their respective schools, with Bowen and White Chapel consolidating in September 1937 and New Central and Valera in the early 1940’s.

Beginning with the 1958 - 1959 school year, Centennial and Talpa consolidated with the junior high and high school students going to Talpa and Centennial becoming the elementary school.  The new school district became known as Talpa - Centennial.