BIG SPRING SCHOOL 1881-1898 or 1899 was an upper school about one mile east of Big Spring on the south side of Big Spring Road and west of the Baptist church. On August 22, 1881, W. D. Mankin signed a deed for a school to School Commissioners W. B. Mankin, Aaron Todd, and Henry Eaton. The name W. D. Mankin and the church are shown on the Beers Map of 1878.
The site was west of the present intersection of the New Hope Road where the Big Creek Church now stands.
The Big Spring community was divided into upper Big Spring and lower Big Spring by the Big Creek. The creek presented a problem for the children in the community.
Because they could not at times cross the water, two schools were built, a one-room upper school to the east and a two-room lower school to the west. There were in all, the one upper school and three lower schools.
Teachers known to have taught in this upper school were W. J. Edwards, Jim Todd, and Wiley H. Robinson. Another Todd, possibly Asa, may have taught.
When a bridge was built over the creek, the attendance at the upper school fell. The school closed in 1898 or 1899.
Wiley H. Robinson, the last teacher, was a student in the lower school in 1897 and was a teacher in the lower school in 1900.
On August 10, 1954, the Rutherford County School Commission gave a Quitclaim Deed to Fred Summers, Howard Bowman, Oscar Summars, Aquilla Bowman, Gran Todd, Porter Arnold, Albert Todd, and Jim Davenport, all Deacons of Big Creek Baptist Church, for the .5 acre of land.