Kelley School, Floyd County Virginia - Former Schools on Waymarking.com

The Kelley Schoolhouse, located just off the Blue Ridge Parkway at milepost 149.1, is a great example of early education in this mountain area.

In 1877, the Locust Grove trustees bought land for a school from the Kelley family for $15 and built a one-room school. The school had no running water or electricity and did not get an outhouse until 1917.

Due to growing enrollment, a two-room schoolhouse was built on the lot, and it is this structure that now stands just out of sight along the Parkway. The school was still in operation when the Parkway was built. It closed in 1939 when the school system was consolidated.

The building became Pate's Grocery Store when Virgie Pate bought the property at auction. The Pates added electricity and living quarters. They sold the store in 1972 and it operated as Ye Old Country Store until the building was sold to the Parkway in 1984.

DIRECTIONS: From Virginia Highway 681/640, take the Blue Ridge Parkway South about two miles to milepost 149. Continue 0.1 mile to an unmarked crossroad, which is Kelley School Road. Turn right (toward the northwest) and go 250 feet to the building on the right, at the corner of Kelley School Road and Stuart Road.

Historic photos of the building and students can be viewed at the website listed below. A history of the school is contained in "Guide to the Blue Ridge Parkway", published in 1997 by Logue & Blouin, which is avaiable at stores and visitor centers along the Parkway.

Address: Kelly School Rd at Stuart Rd Floyd, VA United States 24091 Web Site: [Web Link]

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