I Googled the school attempting to find a history of it and could only find a little information about the area. This is from WiKpedia:
"Capleville is an unincorporated community in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, southeast of Memphis and just north of the Mississippi border. It is located several miles east of the Memphis International Airport, starting near the intersection of State Routes 78 and 175, and heading east, north of Route 175. Most of the area has been incorporated into the City of Memphis and since has become an large industrial center due to its proximity to the airport and Lamar Avenue (U.S. Route 78) which becomes a divided freeway after TN 175.
Local landmarks include Emerald Park, Fox Meadows Park, McFarland Park, Mooney Park, Walter K Singleton Park and Wilson Park. The Capleville Methodist Church is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Capleville is the childhood home of author Jerry Pournelle."
Wikpedia has this on Jerry Pournelle:
"Jerry Eugene Pournelle (born August 7, 1933) is an American science fiction writer, essayist and journalist who contributed for many years to the computer magazine Byte and has since 1998 been maintaining his own website/blog.
From the beginning, Pournelle's work has engaged strong military themes. Several books are centered on a fictional mercenary infantry force known as Falkenberg's Legion. There are strong parallels between these stories and the Childe Cycle mercenary stories by Gordon R. Dickson, as well as Heinlein's Starship Troopers, although Pournelle's work takes far fewer technological leaps than either of these.
He has served as President of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America.
Pournelle was born in Shreveport, the seat of Caddo Parish in northwestern Louisiana, and educated in Capleville, Tennessee. He served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War. Afterwards, he obtained advanced degrees: M.S. degrees in both experimental statistics and systems engineering, and Ph.D. degrees in both psychology and political science, all from the University of Washington. He acquired political experience by serving as Executive Assistant to the Mayor and Director of Research for the City of Los Angeles, campaign manager for Congressman Barry Goldwater, Jr. (Rep.), and campaign manager for the third (successful) campaign for Mayor Samuel William Yorty (Dem.).
Pournelle was an intellectual protege of Russell Kirk (Kenneth C. Cole, Pournelle's mentor at the University of Washington, was co-founder with Kirk of Modern Age) and Stefan T. Possony with whom Pournelle wrote numerous publications including The Strategy of Technology, onetime textbook at the United States Military Academy (West Point) and the United States Air Force Academy (Colorado Springs). His work in the aerospace industry includes editing Project 75, a 1964 study of 1975 defense requirements. He worked in operations research at Boeing, The Aerospace Corporation, and North American Rockwell Space Division, and was founding President of the Pepperdine Research Institute.
As of early 2008, Dr. Pournelle has been battling a brain tumor, which appears to be responding favorably to radiation treatment.[2] As of 28 August, 2008 he is cancer-free according to a report on his blog."
UPDATE: On November 6, 2009 the building burned down. Below is a story from WREG-TV channel 3 (link: (
visit link)
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• FAST FACTS:
• Fire Burned for Hours
• Shelby Drive Was Shut Down in Both Directions
• No Injuries Reported
tom.powell@wreg.com
(MEMPHIS November 6, 2009 10:46 PM) -- Memphis Fire Crews responded to a fire at the old Capleville School Friday at 8:30 Friday night.
The abandoned building is located at the corner of Shelby Drive and Malone.
When crews arrived, heavy flames were seen shooting from the roof of the building.
The fire continued to burn for hours, as firefighters took a defense approach. They fought the flames from the exterior of the building to reduce the risk of injuries to the firefighters.
The building is so old, it would have been too dangerous to send firefighters inside the building.
Shelby Drive was shut down in both directions in front of the school as crews worked to put out the fire.
Saturday the public works crews joined fire fighters back at the scene. They tore down the old 2 story structure. They were hoping to eliminate in hot spots in the building and eliminate safety concerns. Neighbors and school alumni say it is bitter sweet. They're happy to see the eyesore go but sad because it holds memories for them.
Fire Investigators say there were no utilities going to the building. It's possible the fire was started by vagrants.