Big Spring School, 1874-1918

BIG SPRING SCHOOL 1874-1918 was two miles east of the Manchester Highway on the south side of Big Spring Road. It was a lower school, just west of the Big Creek and across from the intersection of the present Cobb Road. On March 2, 1874, Wesley Lowe deeded to School Commissioners J. Y. Lowe, J. H. Kelton, and Henry Eaton a parcel of land for the school. The name W. Lowe is shown on the 1878 Beers Map.

The two-room, two-teacher school had one big room and one little room. It was for students in grades one through eight. There was no playground as such. The boys played on a forest-covered hill behind the school, and the girls played around the Church of Christ building which was just across the road. After lunch each day, two boys were sent to the Big Spring for water. There was one dipper for all the children.

Among the teachers were William Newman who taught in 1892 and again later, W, J. Edwards in 1897, Wiley Robinson in 1900 and with C. T. “Bud” Lowe in 1907, Professor Parker in 1906, Prof. Ike Ensey and Alice Ensey in 1912, C. T. Lowe and Rena Elrod in 1916, Altie Orren Brown, Grace Gilley, Eugene Hoover, Jim Lowe, Ena Lowe, and Effie Hoover. Sarah Moore and Halloween McNabb Harney taught either in this school or in the later building.

A bell called the children to classes. One bell meant, home to school.” Two bells meant, “Be in your seats.” The little children were somewhat graded. The older ones got to Tennessee History and stayed there. The oldest ones got to U.S. History and stayed there.

During revival meetings, the children went every day to the Church of Christ across the road. They went once during revival meetings held in the two Baptist Churches which were farther away.

Estel Lowe had this comment to make about Wiley H. Robinson: “Mr. Robinson was very smart and well-educated. He could teach everything without a book. He always used a white pencil to point out the A.B.C.’s.”

W. P. Ewell mentioned the school in his LOWE SCHOOL Register on October 4, 1895, “I would suggest that this house and that at Carlocksville be united . . . and a high school kept.”

Comments are closed.