Shiloh School, c1880-1948

SHILOH SCHOOL c1880’s-1948 was about two miles east of Murfreesboro at the fork of Halls Hill Pike and Lovers Lane, now called Twin Oak Drive. Land for the school had been granted by the Overall family.

The one-room frame building which faced south was on a triangular lot. The grounds were covered with large rocks except for the school site and the front of the school. On the west, a well, protected by a shelter with
latticed sides and equipped with a pump in about 1923, furnished water not only for the school but for the community.

On the east were a coal house and toilets for boys and girls.

The building itself was on rock pillars. There were two windows on each side and one at the north end. In 1934 the inside walls were gray except for sections painted black for blackboards. A pot-bellied stove stood near the middle of the room. Two rows of desks were on either side of the stove and two long benches were across the front. A small table served as a teacher’s desk. In about 1938 men of the neighborhood furnished materials and built
a small kitchen on the back of the building. In 1947 electricity was installed.

Among the teachers were Winnie Pitts in 1915, Pauline Dement, Myrtle Dement Johns, Gertrude McKnight, Miss Brown, Vera Becton Rogers in 1918, Mamie Dement Reeves, Anna Belle Becton Roberts in 1929-1934, Jessie Belle Arnette Mann in 1934-1946, and Mrs. Charlotte Dement in 1946.

James Wesley Bugg, b. 1889, was an early student.

In 1934-1935, there were 54 pupils enrolled in eight grades; in 1940, 27 pupils; and in 1948, 18 pupils.

In the late 1930’s, Dr. J. C. Waller of the Education Department of MTSTC adopted the school. Through him, a group of boys in a government project cleared the ground of rocks. They painted the outside of the building white
and underpinned it. They also painted the inside walls white, installed real blackboards, built a large corner cupboard for storage, put up a shelf for lunches and a rod under the shelf for coats. Dr. Waller provided a chair, a
new library table, a flag, and a flag pole. He helped organize a PTA. From time to time his classes observed classes at SHILOH SCHOOL.

When the Government Hot Lunch program went into effect, Mrs. Ella Hanson, who lived across the road, was the first cook. The first year she cooked the meals at home and brought the food to the school each day. Government supplements were used and a small price was charged for the
lunches. Mrs. Hanson made a garden and canned food for the next year. When the kitchen was built, Herbert Arnette gave a stove; the PTA collected dishes, silver, pots and pans. Other cooks were Mrs. Martin, Florence Martin, and Mrs. Doron.

In 1937 the school received a loving cup for being 100% Blue Ribbon. The cup which was kept at the school was stolen. In 1981 a former student found it and bought it at a yard sale.

After the school closed, the building was used by a Grange. The Rutherford County School Commission sold the property to the Coon Hunters Club on December 29, 1969.

The building later burned and a block building is now on the site.

SOURCES: Deed Book 194, p. 92. Marie Lowe, Shiloh School, Grade 8, “History of Shiloh Described,” The Daily News Journal, Nov. 7, 1948, p. 3. Interview, June 14, 1984, with Media Bugg Taylor, a student from 1916 to 1923 or 1924 and a sister of James Wesley Bugg. Hector F. Adams. *Jessie Bell Arnette Mann.

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