Salem School, 1898-1932

SALEM SCHOOL before 1898-1932 was on the south side of State Road 99, west of the intersection of the present Armstrong Valley Road. William Rufus Jarratt, b. 1848, gave the land for this school before his son was born in 1898.

SALEM SCHOOL was a frame building of two rooms with a long porch across the front. Later a wing was added to the east to accommodate a third teacher.

Among the teachers were Pat Wade, Dessie Thomas, Elizabeth Smith Manning, Mary Eastman Smith, Sara Northcutt, Mary Dell Garrett Jarratt, Nell Bennett, Remina Wood, Ruth Clay, Virginia Powell, Aubrey Wilson, 1925, 1926, 1927, Katherine Jackson, Emil Roth, Anna Stockard, and Alline North.

Family names of early students included Holden, Smith, and Jarratt. Aubrey Jarratt, b. 1898, was a student under Pat Wade and Dessie Thomas. William Smith, b. 1899, was a student when he was eight years old and in the third grade. He transferred to the TRAINING SCHOOL when he was eleven. His sister, Elizabeth Smith Manning, b. about 1893, was a student
and later taught at this school after having attended MIDDLE TENNESSEE NORMAL SCHOOL.

Under Aubrey Wilson, fund raisers included Eskimo pie suppers, cake walks, and gospel singers.

The school closed in 1932. In 1933, the building was sold to Mrs. Sarah Lokey for one hundred dollars. It is still used as a home.

SOURCES: Interviews, Jan. 21, 1984, with Aubrey Jarratt, b. 1898, student; Jan. 22, 1984, with William Smith, b. 1899, student; Jan. 15, 1983, with Robert W. Baskin; March 22, 1984, with Pauline Wilson Blankenship, first grade student in 1927 and the daughter of Aubrey H. Wilson. *Myrtle Ogles Robinson.

Comments are closed.