Wrigley Elementary was built in the community of Wrigley in Morgan County about 8 miles north of the county seat of West Liberty near the intersection of state routes 7 and 711.
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The building was built in 1936 as part of the WPA (works progress administration) and was constructed of cut stone similar to many school buildings in eastern Kentucky of this vintage including the schools at Ages (Harlan County) and Cannel City (Morgan County)
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In 2007 Morgan County consolidated three schools into West Liberty Elementary leaving this building closed to students. In 2012 that school was destroyed by the devastating West Liberty tornado. A school was rebuilt between the communities of West Liberty and Wrigley and named Wrigley Elementary. That new facility opened in January 2014.
Tag: WPA
Shady Valley Elementary — Johnson County, Tennessee
Shady Valley School is one of the few WPA school buildings still being utilized that I have came across in my travels.
The building was built in 1936. 
Today the school still serves around 50 students.
Whitley City Elementary — McCreary County, Kentucky
The former Whitley City Elementary is located in the McCreary County community and county seat of Whitley City in Southern Kentucky along US 27.
The building is a classic example of the WPA buildings that were built in the 1930s around this area, made of native sandstone. The building was built sometime around 1934.
A photo of this school just after construction was completed can be found by clicking on the link below.
Today the school sits abandoned. I found one reference to it closing in 2008 when the new Whitley City Elementary was opened.
Beaverdam School — Haywood County, North Carolina
When I started planning my trip to Charlotte and Greensboro a few weeks ago, naturally I started searching for abandoned or closed school buildings. I was successful in finding a few. My favorite of them all has to be the old Beaverdam School located in Canton, North Carolina.
The building was built in the early 1930s during the WPA era.
I found a couple of sources that list the closing date as 1985, but that cant be confirmed for sure. Judging by the condition of the building I would say that is a good estimate though.
It appears that the school probably recieved a substantial addition in probably the 1950s along the west side of the building.
As always, if any of my readers have any information or stories about the Beaverdam School in Canton, North Carolina, feel free to message me or comment!
Pre Winter Road Trip: Day 4
Many of you know that I use to live in Greensboro, North Carolina. Most dont know this ironic fact about that move though….when I moved there I rented an apartment on West Market Street…which happens to be US 421. US 421 happens to be one of the two main roads through my home town of Harlan. It was very weird to me that I could move almost 300 miles away and still be on the same road.
Today, I done something I had wanted to do since 2007 when I first moved to that area, I drove US 421 the entire way from Greensboro back to Harlan and saw some interesting things along the way that I cant wait to share over the coming weeks on the blog. For now, here is a little preview:
The Liberty Theater in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina
Old service station in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina.
an old WPA school I found in Mountain City, Tennessee. dont know much about this one yet, but I will definitely be researching it. The building is now apparently some sort of community center.
Shady Valley Elementary School in Johnson County. This building was completed in 1936.
and last, but certainly not least, my Harris Teeter store brands I stocked up on in North Carolina before coming home. I miss Harris Teeter so much.
Oil Springs High School — Johnson County, Kentucky
Oil Springs High School was located along state route 40 in Eastern Johnson County about 10 miles east of the county seat Paintsville near the Maggoffin County line.
Oil Springs High School closed at the end of the 1967-68 school year when Oil Springs, Van Lear, Meade and Flat Gap High Schools were consolidated to form Johnson Central High School. The building then housed Oil Springs Elementary for a number of years until Highland Elementary was built in nearby Staffordsville.
Today the building is home to The Oil Springs Cultural Arts and Recreation Center is part of the Route 23 Cultural Heritage Network. It is located in Johnson County Kentucky on Route 40 West. The building, once home to the Oil Springs School, now serves as a regional center for the arts.
The Oil Springs High School Gym has a history and story all of its own. The gymnasium was constructed in 1934-35 and was funded by the Works Progress Administration, a national assistance program in place from 1930 to 1941. The gymnasium was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on January 26, 1989.
School Annex Building — Sneedville, Tennessee
This building was part of the old elementary school that was in the parking lot of the present day Hancock County Elementary School in Sneedville, Tennessee.
The stone building was once used for classrooms. It was built in 1939 by the National Youth Administration a part of the WPA.
Clinch School — Hawkins County, Tennessee
The Clinch School is something of an anomaly in the current public education structure, in this part of the country at least. This is the former Clinch School, a brand new structure to replace this one was built a few miles on down the road back in 2009. The new Clinch School serves approximately 150 students in grades K-12. It has the distinction of being the smallest school to serve grades K-12 in the entire state of Tennessee.
The Clinch School originally opened in 1938. Built as a public works building the school was the first in the Eidson area of Hawkins County to provide education past Grade 10.
Prior to 1938 students from the remote area of the county had to go to school at Rogersville to go past 10th grade.
As you can tell, the building is signed as “Clinch High School”. This building was used until the end of the 2009-2010 school year when the new building was completed.
The site of the former school is largely abandoned now and the grounds are unkept.
The new school currently serves 140 students in grades K-12.
In this time of school consolidation and the thought process that bigger is better, you have to commend the people of Hawkins County and the community around this school for fighting to keep their school in operation.
Hutch School — Bell County, Kentucky
Hutch School is probably the first abandoned school that I ever noticed as a kid. It’s not too far from my home and we frequent the road by it and have for years.
Hutch School is located on State Highway 217 about 7 miles northeast of Middlesboro.
The school was built by the WPA in 1936.
Today the school stands adjacent to a neighborhood church and has for as long as i can remember.
The schooi is built of stone and I guess that has helped keep this school in such good shape.
Today Im not sure what the church connected next door uses the school building for, or even if they do.
I have no earthly idea as to when this school closed. As I stated at the beginning of this entry, its been closed as long as I can remember… At least to the 1mid to late 1980s. As always, if anyone reads this and has information on this school, feel free to comment!
Rocky Branch School — Wayne County, Kentucky
Rocky Branch School is located in the eastern part of Wayne County Kentucky near the McCreary County line between the communities of Rocky Branch and Coopersville on Kentucky State Route 92.
Rocky Branch School is a prime example of a school building built during President Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal and the WPA.
The school was built sometime in the 1930s and is built out of the same cut sandstone that was used at the Wayne County High School on down the road in neighboring Monticello that is now on the National Register of Historic Places.
At some point, probably in the 1960s the school recieved a small addition on the building’s south side.
Rocky Branch closed to students after the 1984-85 school year as Wayne County began a consolidation process that left them with more centralized schools in the county.
Jamie in Wanderland 