Grissom High School was founded in 1969 and is named for astronaut Virgil I. "Gus" Grissom, killed in the Apollo 1 fire at Cape Kennedy, Florida on January 27, 1967.
In August 2012, the Huntsville City Schools announced plans to tear down the original two-story main high school building and replace it with a three-story structure at an estimated cost of $58 million.