This was probably one of my favourite spots from the recent trip, in as much as I had never heard of the place before and had no idea what to expect going in. The school has it's origins back in the 1880s and was hugely expanded over the years, eventually at it's height having nearly 30 buildings spread across a large campus in a very rural part of Alabama. It was set up in order to educate and train exclusively poor African-Americans in things such as literacy, numeracy and agricultural trades to allow them to get employment on farms easier and was a very important well-respected institution in it's time. It closed in the 1970s and in the 1980s part of it was reopened as a private arts and drama college, which survived until the failing health of the owner forced it to close for good in 2003.
At some point in the past a great many buildings were torn down and by the time it closed in 2003, only nine remained standing - the original school building, plus the library and various small teachers cottage buildings and an ablutions block.
Only the main school building and a few of the teacher cottages are accessible, the library is very well sealed and a couple of the old cottages are now occupied. Stepping inside and seeing the building was a real wow moment for me as it's a perfect example of natural decay, it's location in the back of the back of beyond has kept it remarkably off the radar and free from idiots. The building is however filled with mud dauber wasp nests, their small cylindrical nests are attached to pretty much every flat surface somewhere but luckily given it was March none were occupied! The other cottage buildings were uninteresting except for one, which was filled with all sorts of stuff and was set up almost like a museum from when it was the original school.
Thanks for looking
At some point in the past a great many buildings were torn down and by the time it closed in 2003, only nine remained standing - the original school building, plus the library and various small teachers cottage buildings and an ablutions block.
Only the main school building and a few of the teacher cottages are accessible, the library is very well sealed and a couple of the old cottages are now occupied. Stepping inside and seeing the building was a real wow moment for me as it's a perfect example of natural decay, it's location in the back of the back of beyond has kept it remarkably off the radar and free from idiots. The building is however filled with mud dauber wasp nests, their small cylindrical nests are attached to pretty much every flat surface somewhere but luckily given it was March none were occupied! The other cottage buildings were uninteresting except for one, which was filled with all sorts of stuff and was set up almost like a museum from when it was the original school.
Thanks for looking
