Adams Chapel School - Montgomery, AL - Former Schools on Waymarking.com

On four blocks of Montgomery one can find both 19th-century houses on their original locations and buildings moved to the site and restored to create a museum of life in central Alabama in that century. Adams Chapel School is one that was moved here to preserve the type of one-room schoolhouse that served many communities in rural Alabama.

The following information on the school comes from pages 48-50 of Old Alabama Town: An Illustrated Guide by Mary Ann Neeley (Tuscaloosa, AL: The University of Alabama Press, 2002, ISBN 0-8173-1179-3):

"A prolific family, the Adamses lived and farmed in the southwestern part of Alabama's Barbour County during a time when public education in rural areas was almost nonexistent. A clan with many branches, each with children, the Adamses took it upon themselves to provide for the religious training and schooling of their broods.

In 1895 Fabian Adams deeded land to the Methodist Church and with his brothers, sons, and nephews constructed a small wooden building, Adams Chapel, which at first also doubled as a school. It was soon evident that this was not adequate and in 1898 the family built a one-room school across the road that they named Adams Chapel School.

In 1900 Alabama, the average school year was sixty-two to sixty-eight days. Scheduled around the farming cycle, school opened in late October or November, after the harvest, and closed in time for spring planting. Teacher salaries ranged from $18 to $25 a month; the state expenditure for each student was $1.44.

Built to the specifications of the State Board of Education, the simple gabled Adams Chapel School has a series of windows on the west side to provide proper lighting in an area with no electricity. With students facing north and academia discouraging the use of the left hand, there were no shadows cast upon their writing. Set on cypress stumps, the sturdy building withstood the ravages of storm. drought, and hundreds of children during the fifty years it was the educacenter for the communities of Texasville and Edgefield."

"Students from the first through the seventh grade attended Adams Chapel School. Utilizing the universally revered McGuffey Readers and Blue Back Spellers, teachers faced the responsibilities of preparing several lesson plans for each of the seven grades every day. In a situation such as this, it was necessary for the older pupils to help teach the younger.

Students had to perform other duties in addition to their scholastic efforts. Older boys kept the woodstove warm and filled the water bucket while girls swept and dusted the room, keeping the rows of desks twenty-four inches apart as required by state law. Desks were the property of the students, and children had to bring larger ones as they grew.

The state, working to improve its educational standards and facilities, closed this small school in 1948 and sent the students to a county consolidated facility."

During the school year Old Alabama Town has many visitors from schools. I often wonder how the children react to the concept of a one-room schoolhouse. It is my understanding that sometimes they have had people act as "teachers" during the school tours, but I have not personally seen that. Since access is limited to those who purchase tickets to Old Alabama Town, I will put the address of the Reception Center where you can buy tickets. I will also put the web address of Old Alabama Town.

Address: 301 Columbus Street Montgomery, AL USA 36104 Web Site: [Web Link]

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