How many public high schools were there in 1860?

There's no readily available, precise number of public high schools in the United States in 1860. Public education was far less developed and standardized than it is today. High schools, as we understand them, were relatively rare. Many areas only offered elementary education, and secondary education, if available, was often private or through academies. Detailed, nationwide statistics on the number of public high schools simply weren't collected in that era.