Between 1908 and 1910, Jack Stokely began construction on a new school building for the Crawford community, which would be the third in Crawford’s history.
The first day of classes at the new school was October 2, 1911. The building functioned as a school from 1911–1955. The class of 1947 was the last graduating class.
Construction
- Mayor J.A. Roland and the City of Crawford floated a bond to raise the $4,500 required to build the school.
- Mr. Pat Pace hand-cut the granite for the windows and doors.
School Life
There were originally four classrooms and a full auditorium. Outbuildings, now destroyed, were added later to house lower grades, bathrooms, and a lunchroom.
- The school’s biggest athletic rivals were the Meson Academy in Lexington and the Maxeys School.
- Students had to pay $1.00 upon entering for the purpose of paying a janitor and buying fuel. Those outside the school district had to pay $2.00 per month. Students came from as far as 12 miles away.
- Crawford High School received accreditation in 1921 allowing graduates to enter college without having to “stand examination.”
Courtesy of the Athens Regional Library System Heritage Room, MSS005, Photograph of children looking at books from the Athens Regional Library bookmobile, Athens, Georgia, circa 1945. (Licensed under CC BY 4.0)
- Each year, students in the junior and senior classes would present a play or musical on the upstairs auditorium stage. Many of the names of cast members can still be found on the walls backstage.
- The Crawford Women’s Club sponsored plays with a cast “composed of local talent of Crawford.”
“In 1939, the State of Georgia ran completely out of money to operate our schools. As I remember, the teachers were paid through February leaving March, April and May up to the parents. I believe the entire school was closed during that time with the exception of the senior class who was able to get Mr. Pierce Belcher to continue on by himself until the second week in May. The country was in an economic depression and many people actually suffered.”
Peter Wheeler, CHS ‘39 – Commissioner – Dept. of Veterans Service – 1989
After closing its doors as a school in 1955, the building was used as a nursing home, sewing plant, insulation plant, preschool, and a manufacturing facility for decorative garden edgings.
Arts! Oglethorpe
In 1996, the building was purchased by Ralph Maxwell, Jr., who then granted the deed to Arts! Oglethorpe in 2006. Since that time, volunteers have been working hard to raise funds to restore and renovate the building to be a highlight of community in Oglethorpe County.
To learn more about our renovation efforts or to donate to our renovation fund, click the button below.
For more information on the Crawford School’s history, we recommend the following texts, many of which can be found at the Oglethorpe County Library or with Historic Oglethorpe County.
- Crawford High School : A History by Crawford School Reunion Committee, 1989
- Oglethorpe County Schools and Communities Remembered by Katie Lou Brown Bridges, 1996
- The History of Oglethorpe County, Georgia by Florrie Carter Smith, 1970
- Supplement I, 1972
- Supplement II, 1979
- The Oglethorpe Echo — Issues from 1874–1903 available on the Georgia Historic Newspapers archives; issues from 1874–2012 available on microfilm at the Oglethorpe County Library and University of Georgia Main Library.