TAYLOR SCHOOL
Taylor School was a one-room
school for grades one to six. It was located on top
of Taylor Mountain in a community that was once called
Taylorsville. It was about two miles from Goodwill, and
about three miles from Thornhill. The school was built in
1928 on land donated by Mack Taylor, and constructed by
carpenters Blondin Bailey and Jack Lucado.
Some of the teachers at Taylor School were: Viola
Cook of Goodwill, Mr. Chewning, Mr. Smith, Bill Martin,
and a Mr. Altizer who also owned theLonesome Pine Motel
in Bluefield.
Cordie Epperson Taylor was a student there, and gave a
good description of the school. "When you open the
front door you enter a hall. On both sides of the
hall were small rooms with doors that acted as
libraries. All of the schoolbooks were stored in
it. One of the rooms also had a bucket of water and
a dipper, and every student in the school had a cup with
their name on it. At the end of the hall was
another door. It opened into the big
classroom. All of the student's chairs faced the
door. The Chalkboards were on both sides of the
students. The teacher's desk was beside the front door.
To the left of the door was a big potbelly stove that
heated the school. The back of the room was lined with
windows that gave light to the school. Pictures on
the wall were of George Washington, Pinky and Blue Boy,
and seasonal pictures. The piano was beside the teacher's
desk on the opposite side from the stove. The girls
outside toilet was behind the school, and the boys toilet
was to the left of the school. The coalhouse was to
the right of the school. Games that they played
included baseball, but they had to use a tree branch for
the bat, and a balled up sock for the ball."
Taylor School remained open until June 1965. Then
students were bussed to Montcalm and Bramwell.
Photograph
and text furnished by Ken Bowen, Bluewell, WV.
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