Kentucky Folkweb
YOU ARE HERE: Home -->Community -->Cultural Surveys -->One Room Schools in harrison County, KY
One Room Schools in Harrison County Kentucky
by Charline Wilson, Cynthiana Community Scholar
I have been interested in one room school houses for sometime. When I
was a child my father bought the Ree’s one-room school on the Salem
Pike in Harrison County. I helped my father tear down this school. He built
a large hog house from the lumber. This was in the late 1940s.
In 1967 my husband and I purchased a farm on Judy Ride Road in Harrison
County. This farm used to have a one-room school house on it known as the
Henry School. The farm was first owned by a Henry family and later by Virgil
Judy. When the school closed it was sold—not to Virgil Judy, but to
his brother Ed Judy who lived across the road from the school. Stories of
long ago say that this bothered Virgil so much that it did not come back
to him that he took his own life. The school was torn down and a stock pond
was built.
Close by another one room stood on the Beaver Road across from the Beaver
Baptist church. This school was known as the Beaver School. After closing
in 1929, the house was used for many other things, like Sunday-school classes,
residencies and hay storage. My husband’s parents set up housekeeping
in the Beaver School about 1933/1934.
There was another one-room school across the road from the Salem Church
on the Salem Pike. I attended this church as a child. This school was torn
down in the early 1930s.
In the fall of 2004, the Community Scholars Program came along. This looked
like fun and maybe a way to continue my love of family research. I decided
this was a good time to begin my search for other Harrison County one-room
schools. I have researched the library, talked to may people, done interviews,
made lots of phone calls and come up with lots of information on different
schools. I have been lucky enough to find pictures of many schools.
At one time there were over 66 one-room school houses in Harrison County,
Kentucky, most of which dated back into the 1800s. Most one-room schools
were closed by the mid-1930s and children were moved to larger schools.
To start my project I divided the county into the four areas that the elementary
schools cover now in 2004 The areas are eastside, northside, westside and
southside. Because I live in the eastside area and know about several schools,
this is where I started my project. Using a new map of Harrison County I
cut out each school area and started locating the schools in each area.
I have completed the eastside area to my satisfaction, although I have a
list of 10-12 schools that I have not found anyone who can tell me where
they were located. There were 19 schools in the eastside area, these are
pinpointed on a map of the area. I have talked to people who knew where
these schools were located and who have attended there. I have14 pictures
of the19 schools, most of which have the year the picture was taken and
the names of the children in the pictures-- some of them dating back to
1901. I have also made a list of known teachers for each school.
When these schools closed, the County school board sold them. Often time
families in the community bought the schools, added onto them, or moved
them and built around them to make a start on their own home.
At this time I am working on the other three areas of the county. In the
northside area I have located14 schools and have 11 pictures. In the westside
area, a large area, I have located 17 schools with 11 pictures. In this
area there is a school known as Sunnyside that seems to be in good shape.
It has been moved form its previous location. I hope to contact the owner
so that I can get inside to take pictures this summer. The southside area
is the smallest are of the four. I have located 6 schools with 3 pictures.
Most of all the schools were built the same. Size differences depended upon
the number of children in the area at the time the schools were built. Most
were frame houses, with rock foundations, a tin roof, one front door, and
two or three windows down each side. Most all windows had shutters that
could be closed when school was not in session. Schools were heated by a
pot-bellied stove which set in the middle of the school. Firewood was brought
in by families in the fall if schools were in session. Sometimes schools
were in session for only three months. Some schools had cloak closets located
just inside the front door, one for girls and one for boys. Each had a water
bucket and dippers. The teacher’s desk was usually located in the
back of the school. Some were raised on a platform which served as a stage.
I made a presentation to the Community Scholars class on the eastside area.
I used posters, a map showing the locations of schools, pictures of what
a one-room school house looks like on the inside in addition to photographs
of various schools. A fellow student in our class thought this would be
good to use at the “Taste of Harrison County: which is held each fall.
If I can get the project finished, I might consider presenting the schools
of Harrison County.
One-Room School Houses In Harrison County
| Eastside: Fletcher Claysville I Claysville II Beaver Valley Oddville Mt. Zion Salem Henry Beaver Baptist Smitsonville Evans Republican Marsh Wagoner Morning Glory Shady Nook Indian Creek White Rees |
Northside: Avena Boyd Kelat Poindexer Two Lick Sunrise Richland North Berry Curry Robinson Antioch Conrey Pleasant Hill |
Westside: Half-acre Sunnyside Walnut Hill Keho Mt.Vernon Renaker Hampton Burns Kendall White Oak Breckinridge Pleasant Green Connsersville New Library Red Oat-colored Coppage Boyers |
Southside: Lair East Broadwell Lees Lick Leesburg Leesburg colored East Lair |
