SCHOOLS AND CHURCHES
SCHOOLS - Schools and churches have always been important to the people of College Grove. In 1854, James P. Allison while giving a tract of land for a Presbyterian Church, also gave adjoining land for a boys
school. In 1858, Dr. Samuel Webb furnished land for a Methodist Church and a female school.
The Female School was on the site of the present Methodist Church. The boys school, located on the same land as the present school, was the Carey Winn Academy. Professor Carey lived in the house once owned by the W. D. Scales family (now owned by and next to the Church of Christ). Professor Winn lived where Nell and Jerry Wilson’s house now stands. Another teacher was the Presbyterian preacher, Mr. Hendrix, who built and lived in the house owned for a long time by S. B. Glenn (now replaced by a house owned by Howard Ford).
The two boarding schools had students from surrounding towns and states. Degrees were conferred and may entered colleges. However, the Civil War closed the Carey-Winn Academy, as most instructors and students left to fight for the Confederacy. During the Reconstruction Period, there was a decline in boarding schools, and a decree from the Williamson County Chancery Court consolidated the two schools.
In 1912, a high school was erected by private subscriptions and parts of
this old building are still used in the present school building. A gymnasium was built in 1924, and a rock veneer was added by WPA workers in 1935. Other additions have included a four-room elementary building in 1936, four more rooms added to the elementary building in 1949, the first cafeteria known as the Red Barn in 1947, and the Agricultural Building in 1953. In 1957,
1949 the original building was remodeled and a new auditorium was built. Built in 1961, was the new R. L. Windrow Gymnasium and in l968, a new cafeteria. Also in 1968 the old Presbyterian Church, adjacent to the school property, was deeded to the county, and it was used for classrooms. In 1970, with the implementation of integration, the Kirkland School building housed grades one through three.
1949 Extensive remodeling and building was done in 1976 to make the school suitable for a K-6 school after grades 7-12 moved to the new Page High School. In 1981, the sixth grade was moved to the new Page Middle School and College Grove School is now K-5 with Mrs. Anne Vaughn as principal since the retirement of Mr. Alfred Jaqueth.
Many teachers influenced those who attended College Grove School. One most loved and most often quoted was R. L. “Blue” Windrow, coach, teacher, and principal from the late 1930s until his death in 1968.
CHURCHES – On land which was given by Mr. Allison in 1854 and which was adjacent to the school, the Poplar Grove Cumberland Presbyterian Church was built in 1860. It was renamed the College Grove Cumberland Presbyterian Church in 1861. A new building was erected in 1896. This church was a vital part of the community for over one hundred years. In 1961, the congregation became the United Presbyterian Church. In 1966, the church dissolved and the property reverted to the College Grove School. The building burned in about 1978.
In 1861, College Methodist Church bought, from Dr. Samuel Webb for $240, land to erect a building. Some have thought that this Methodist Church might have been an outgrowth of an earlier Methodist congregation, Bethel Methodist Church, established in 1835 on the southeast corner of the Brown Boyd farm at a spot know as Bethel Springs. There is no proof of this, but the Bethel Church disbanded in 1861, the same year the College Grove Church began. The first church building was typical of the times with two front doors – the men’s side and the women’s side. It was unusual as it had a lean-to front porch along the front.
The present church was built in 1888 by T. G. Slate, a local carpenter, and was dedicated in 1889 during the pastorate of L.W.B. Lowery. At times, College Grove Church was on charges with Greenwood, Promise, Edwards Grove, Eagleville, Triune and Wesley Chapel. It became a station in 1955.
Through the years, changes and additions have been made to the 1888 building. In 1932, Sunday school rooms were added. The building was raised and a basement added in 1948, an adjoining strip of land was given by Mr. Marvin B. Scales. Stained-glass windows, an organ, and a new lighting system were installed in 1952. Additions in 1956 were a chapel and more classrooms. In 1973, there was remodeling and redecorating done along with installation of a new air conditioning and heating system. The steeple given by the Joe Bellenfant family was erected in 1983 and dedicated in a service led by a form pastor, Reverend William Tomlin. The stained glass windows above the front door were made and placed there by the Maxwell family in memory of Albert Maxwell. Stained glass panes in the two basement doors were given in memory of Carl Thoni, Sr.
The original church parsonage was behind what is now Covington Feed and Seed Store property. This was sold in 1910, and a new house was built on church property. Then, in 1959, this building was moved, and the present parsonage was built.
Another church in the community is the Church of Christ. This
congregation first met in Mr. Will Marable’s home in 1922. In 1930, they met in the remodeled Scales Granery. Then, the congregation met for a while in a brick store building on the corner of their property until they completed the basement to their present church. In 1949, the present brick building was completed. The W. D. Scales house was acquired in 1971, and an additional building was erected. The Church of Christ, through the years, has been a great service to the community, and now they are continuing by sponsoring a Child Day Care Center.
A Baptist Mission Church was organized in College Grove in 1949. Services, led by a minister from Grandview Church, were held in members’ homes. Earliest local leaders were Mr. Hawley Wilson, Mrs. Allie Ivery, and Mr. Robert Davis. In 1953, Mr. J. P. Covington’s Granery was converted into a place of worship. Grandview Church then sent Pastor Bill Taylor, Sunday school teachers, a piano, and a piano player to help the mission. In 1956 the present building was completed, and the congregation became the First Baptist Church of College Grove.
College Grove can be proud of these churches and the Christian cooperation among the members of all congregations.
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