The school actually sits on what used to be my family's land. The deal was if the school was ever stopped being used Wilson County would give the land back to my family. Typical county government went back on their word. I was last there in the early '90s , the walls and floors were still intact so I am shocked at the amount of damage since last time I was there. If you remember, there is a farm house a little ways to the back of the school. My grandfather grew up there and attended classes at the school after it was built.
Stumbled across your video and thought I might provide a tidbit of info as I began 1st grade there in 1962. The school is Shop Springs School, located in the unincorporated community of the same name approximately halfway between Lebanon and Watertown. I couldn't tell you the exact year but I'm pretty sure it began life as a high school and later on became grades 1-8. At the time of my attendance the grades were split among three rooms with one teacher handling 1-2, another 3-5, and one more, who doubled as principal, handling 6-8. There was a cafeteria where lunch was prepared daily with home cooking and the best yeast rolls you ever put in your mouth. Descendants of the school cook run a restaurant (Depot Junction) in Watertown that still dishes up the same recipe rolls. The one large room with the stage was multipurpose study hall, gymnasium, and meeting place for PTA, etc. In those days schools were largely very local and still segregated. As the civil rights movement took hold, most small schools were closed and students were integrated into larger centralized locations. In this part of the world many of these old schools were either donated or sold to private community organizations and kept up as community centers. This particular example was never owned by the county but was privately held in its days as a school and also thereafter which led to its deterioration. In the early days the teachers were excellent and perfectly capable of handling multiple lessons and grade levels. My parents made the decision to transfer me to the local military academy in 6th grade because it had always been their goal for me to attend there and one of the excellent teachers had been superseded by one who was not so good. Hope this provides some interesting back story. If I think of something to add or correct I will return and edit this comment.
@@blakebenson8133 Here's the best I can do. Shop Springs Baptist Church is at 3022 Sparta Pike, Lebanon, TN 37090. The old school was right across the street from that. I say "was" because it has been demolished within the last year. I would have answered sooner but I didn't get a notification that you had replied as I usually do.
@@ExploringwithRickBekah Stories, you say? How about when the Principal showed up one day drunk AND naked and the custodian had to spirit him away...LOL...or the plumbing that often froze in the winter necessitating the use of the outhouses. I had a very weak stomach at the time, particularly for smells, so my teacher would rather scrape my plate after lunch than clean up after me if I tried to do it myself. This sounds like something Mark Twain might have written but there was a period when the boys would collect flies using plastic crayon boxes. I distinctly remember one of my cohorts catching one high up on the wall and slowly sliding the box down to desk level so he could put the captive in with the other prisoners of war he had already caught. He ever so slowly and diligently "jumped" the box over a chair rail to keep the unfortunate from escaping...all under the intense gaze of the Principal while the rest of us tried to contain our laughter. I can see that as plainly in my mind as if it were yesterday. Last but not least, even though I went on to become a musician of some regional note, I had no idea in first grade who the Beatles were. However, that didn't stop our parents from dressing me and three of my hapless friends up in black yarn wigs and having us sing "My Bonny Lies Over the Ocean" for a PTA meeting. In case you didn't see my reply to Blake Benson, memories are all that remain now. A month or two after your visit the old building was demolished but your video clearly showed the need for that. You can't go home again...
my 2 cents, love your videos. I grew up in the 70's and 80's. A time when schools didn't have much funding and bloated staff. as a result, I have actually attended schools like this that were still being used. The school design you just witnessed is common from the early 1920-s through the late 50's. They had a similar design. A vestibule entry (Some call it a dogwalk) with classrooms on the left and right of the entry hall. As the schools were small to large, they had this design. Gyms were added where they used to have play rooms in the 50's and rooms were expanded outward and around the gym. The gym served as a multipurpose room and originally though of as a playroom for small children. Prior to this design, schools didn't have a common standard of building. A massive fire at Collinwood school fire (also known as the Lakeview School fire) erupted on March 4, 1908, killing 172 students, two teachers and one rescuer was and is the deadliest school disasters in United States history. as a result, this school you visited is earlier than you thought. It was probably built in the early 30's when the US invested money in building safe schools. The "Ash" you mentioned at 16:52 is coal dust. They used a large furnace boiler in the basement, and the odd window is the coal chute. The huge windows were a requirement by the codes (Rules) at the time. Because of poor lighting, "The total window area should equal from 40 to 50 percent of the total wall area of the long side of the room, and in general, one-quarter the floor area of the classroom." thanks for the walk down memory lane. I can still smell the wax pellets on the floor. www.ncef.org/pubs/greenschoolshistory.pdf www.nps.gov/nr/feature/places/pdfs/13000035.pdf
Good information. I also agree about the coal dust. When looking at the video one can see the remains of the pipe chimneys going through the roof. The school may have had individual coal fires in each room. The one thing I must add is that the New London School Explosion on March 18, 1937 in New London Texas was the worst school disaster in the United States. Nearly 300 students and teachers were killed that day. Also, the Our Lady of Angels school fire (in Chicago) on December 1, 1958 further brought about great changes to the way schools are constructed. 92 children and 3 nuns were killed in this fire.
didn't catch that history, good job. If we could be present in the 30's I think that this is where History got it right. Investing in this common design to minimize lives at risk. With the 20's and this information just solidifies the reason for the massive buildup of schools that are similar. the London school was finished in 1933, and is the exact same design as another Scholl n Alabama, that I attended. Even though this Scholl had a new design, it couldn't match the time bomb that awaited its fate.
you are correct, it was Belgreen, near Russellville, or possibly Tharptown www.google.com/maps/@34.5251015,-87.62097,3a,75y,9.13h,85.67t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s6v5WXvcN3FmSIwUj5ayJCQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656
WOW, I hope you two never stop exploring or making these interesting vids. It takes me to places I could never go to and otherwise would never see. Thank you sooooooo much. I enjoy your work and anxiously await every single vid. God Bless and Greetings from Massachusetts. Happy New Year!.
Old school buildings always had huge windows! Great find! My in-laws bought an old school building in Blackburn Mo. had two class rooms a big basement, they turned it into a great home!
yes you got bekah back on the camera she's awesome on that thing really gets all details she can even some that are not mentioned makes us feel like we're right there with y'all
In 72 (9, 4th grade) my parents moved to Macon Co, N.C.. Cartoogechaye elementary was a small school. 1st to 8th grade and about 18 to 23 kids per grade. The school was built in the 50s and was torn down in 2017. The school was long, the cafeteria at one end and the gym at the other and class room between. The play ground had a baseball field and a swing set and a pole with a ball tied to it. We had recess about once an hour. All meal were like home cooked. Us kids often got chose what we wanted to learn. Every now and then a teacher would bring records and we, the whole school, would have dance parties. In 77 I graduated 8th grade and the next year 5th - 8th went to middle school. The recesses once an hour was in high school went away about then. The schools I went to in NJ were kindergarten - 12th and MD was 1st - 12th. I loved rural schools and was very lucky to get to experience what few if any kids today.
Ahhh you two NEED too go back to this old school, and metal detect it! It look's like was added on to, probably more than once. Try looking around the baseboard's upstairs, and maybe dig, and sift the basement. You could probably find some old marble's sifting, and who know's what with your detector. Another great video, thank's for taking me along with you!!
Nice find guys, schools I think are really interesting, just imagine all the children's futures that were shaped in that building. Really cool, thank you xx
This was such an awesome find!! Love it! And thanks for keepin your channel clean! It's so nice to be able to share your all's explores with my sweet 6 yr old girl. She enjoys them, too! So adorable, hearing her talk about Rick and Bekah! God bless! :)
Aww :) you're welcome! Thank YOU! ... As you know, there's not much left I can trust with her, online. Your channel is very refreshing and appreciated! :D
I could almost hear children singing, and playing at play time break ,and yet it felt a sad place,lesson for you both now your taking a lot of risks ,so think safety!!!
So to think there were several generations or urban explorers in the 90s, 80s and 70s at least. That means that far back people could get into this place. It's awe inspiring to know people did this kind of exploration, in the same place, for that long.
Thk u for visit to school.my husband went there in 51 but is much older. U and Becka wrk great together i feel like im there with u...by the way husband is 73 ....lol. oh would like to c more shools....Mendeota Elementary on the Holston River Rd.......Later guys.
+Exploring with Rick & Bekah It would be interesting to go into the local county property records and deeds/court and see what the history of the property was and who owned it.
I thought maybe 30'sat first but part of that brick was over a foot thick in places on the outside walls, it suggests its quite a bit older. Those walls helped keep buildings cooler in summer and warmer in winter. Stairs in the basement were probably for the auditorium stage and broken wooden teachers desk.
cool old school!..im guessing built around 1900 and used up into the 70's...there would have been a wood/coal stove in each bigger room for heat...you can see the hole in the ceiling in the biggest room with the stage..water is dripping through the hole onto the floor...that may have been where that stove was ...there was minimal electrical wiring and that may have been retrofit in later after the construction of the building..lots of big window was for light back before electricity...the water system is kind of a mystery to me ... looked like only a cold water faucet in that sink in the kitchen and no sign of a hot water tank in the basement...they probably just heated water on the stoves...the water system and bathrooms were probably added later also..often called water-closets since they would add the bathroom into pre-existing closets...so there must have had to be a well and electric pump in the basement to feed those toilets,but i didnt see where it was...but i bet there was just a hand dug well outside somewhere at first and outhouses...just be careful of old wells, they sometimes get covered up with old boards and vegetation grows on them and the boards rot..there just like a trap and you would fall right in!...most of the time there covered with a stone slab though.. boy what id give to metal detect around there!..especially if they start grading off the area around the building before demolition!.... the walk way to and around where the outhouses where would be a great place to detect!..schools and church's have always the best places for me!!
Reminded me of Grade School (K - 5th). Third Floor was long gone; and half of the rest had been condemned, torn down, and replaced with a new one story building connected. When I was in 4th Grade (on the second floor of the old half) that part got condemned. 5th Grade was in a hallway in the new section while the two story old half was being torn down and replaced with another one story building connected. We had black slate chalkboards. It's a Library now. Asbestos was a big concern. Your explore looked very dangerous to me. I think that building should have a high fence around it with no trespassing signs; or be demolished. I don't know if it would be safe to salvage any of the still decent woodwork or bricks.
I used to be one of the hoodlum kids that spray painted the place. It was just turned into a farm to table restaurant. Great place. It's called Old School :)
The School name is on the front of the overhang, front entrance. You should have shown the row of outhouses out back. Also the huge cement water tank with the old cement tunnel and restrooms built under it. The back is the best part.
1966 the first school house I went to will similar sugar is 1 through 6 hello little Auditorium or Assembly Hall. Most of the schools in the area were primary through Junior High Junior and senior after that even in the town of Shawnee. The walls were darker seem to me like middle school I went to but. We're similar Schoolhouse there
This is bigger than I thought it was. Schools started off in one room with all the same grade in the one room. There wasn’t even a bathroom. Kids had to use outhouses. No indoor plumbing. We’ve come along way. Now schools look like prisons.
Strange that "Men Teachers" was stenciled on the inside of the door and not on the side facing the main room. Those toilets in the basement appear to be NOS (new old stock), kept on hand to be used as replacements for broken toilets. I bet you'd find a lot of coins on the property, kids are notoroius for losing pocket change.
I was thinking that would be a great place to do some metal detecting...lol then you said that...if you do you should record it! I would love to see what you find there. Awesome video again! I seriously like your videos more than others. Can you just imagine what stories those walls heard?
I'm just listening because I've seen it before and I'm putting makeup on before I leave, and without even thinking about it I said aloud to the empty room "Blow your nose, Bekah!" Once a mom always a mom, apparently. I hate having a runny nose and I'm not shy about carrying an old school hanky. I know I'd need one there for sure!
Music usually, but today I got a notice from your channel and kept it going after I watched the new video. I've loved exploring since I was a toddler so I live vicariously through exploration videos. You guys find the Best stuff!! I only subscribe to a few more, but I have seen many. You are definitely a favorite!
Fascinating find. Interesting structure. Maybe a middle or high school? The bathrooms were interesting. And the lower level spooky indeed. It would be cool if we could do a time lapse back in time and see the decline and the structural damage origins -- and of course the school days with the teachers and pupils. Again, wonder what happened...Building would have had a relatively short life if built in late 40's or 50's and only operated intil the 1970's perhaps...I like how things like door hardware and fixtures (eg., toilets) help date the buildings.
PS, After reading through the comments, I see my estimates are just a little off...Love you guys' work. Interesting variety and it is great to see your wonder and reactions as you explore...
Hi, stay safe while you and your wife are out filming, I really don't understand why they leave it empty? When they stop using it as a school, why don't someone buy it and turn it into a home, and make use of the building , so sad it's just going to waste
It's like that little plant down there is trying to become a tree but none make it. One of these days a tree will eventually grow right through the floor.
The stars to nowhere reminds me of a Doctor Who perception filter or how in one episode there was a fake extra room of a house that wasn't really there.
You also have to realize there have been many generations to children that would have flooded the entire place several times a day and some of the students would have even grown up to come back and teach there.
I agree this was a school. To be spacific this was a space savoir country school. I'm guessing it was used for rural farmer children Elementary probably from like 1930 to like 1970's at the latest. Rural meaning not inter city, but like farming community. Kids were sent here from distances to go to school of course, and because farming was spread out for land, some came a distance. Usually they would walk to like the nearest highway to catch a bus from dirt roads to minimize travel. New regulations would have started coming in and they would have closed the school by 1975 or something. The first room is definently the main entry hallway; it might seem big when 2 adults walk in there; however the first class room has the spacing for 35 to 40 students depending on age. Then you returned and went to a room with a stage, now this room would be the play house; a place to meat with parents as a group; or for every day I can see a lunch room, the tables would be moved away for lunch being over. Now the room in the rear of the playhouse was probably for older grades probably like 4-6th or some variation. the second room is probably like a project room for events the classroom, possibly art, science, etc and a storage space which you dared not enter barely. Also it can be used for a work space as well as a swing classroom for work for specific projects. All in all I'm gonna guess they wished for this school to accommodate possibly 30 - 60 students. Now you might wonder why there would be no kitchen for hot lunch, well this is because the school is a old Tennessee Homestead Act School built to make it so children being raised on farms can go to school. A lot didn't have money to pay for hot lunches so space wasn't required. Bagged food was brought as farming families were more based on provision of stock. Some even closed by 1960. The one you visited is structurally safe in the front, but the back end is ready for a full collapse, they built the building on the cheapest land.
yep, your welcome. But I am a bit surprised that you didn't attempt to collect the mason jars to check there composition because theirs value in old mason jars. I know this property will be hard to metal detect, but I think you should metal detect it outside the rear of the doors. Try to look at it from a geology view to see what it would have looked like 50 years ago, and think about places bored kids on a break might go in that period. From my study they liked tire swings, field space to play ball, rivers...etc. Try to find what they might have left behind. Kids back then were given few things, but they hoarded things back then we view in collectors sense today. But you got some rough terrain there.
Thanks. Can you advise where? I went to Porter Jr. Hi for last of my 8th year, then started as Freshman and had to move a few weeks later to Mentor, where I went to Alcoa for Freshman and first few weeks of Sophomore, then on to Youngs(dating myself here...!) until Feb of my Senior year. From the Maryville/Knoxville area went to East Syracuse and graduated there, with a class I hardly knew. Porter was in Wildwood and Mentor was on outskirts of MvGhee-Tyson AFB where my Father was stationed. While at Porter I lived on Old Sam Houston School Road with the Little Tennessee River a couple of football fields behind my house. We explored the school house one time before it was gussied up to be an open tourist site. There were knee high weeds all around it with an old beat up wooden sign that said, "NO SMOKING State Historic Site." I have a jillion memories from those 6 years. Definitely the most fun and happiest of my life. Be careful in old buildings. You have three things you can breathe: Asbestos, lead from the powdery paint, and mold. And structurally too many to list.
I have a couple questions. Do you remember if this place was located near any homes? Possibly any kids nearby? @5:47 I hear a possible kid's voice yelling "... coming". I hear it clear on my headphones, especially on the left side, as if the "voice" is coming from the left of you two. I could be hearing things lol Loving this video, btw! And what my ears possibly picked up makes it even better.
The school actually sits on what used to be my family's land. The deal was if the school was ever stopped being used Wilson County would give the land back to my family. Typical county government went back on their word. I was last there in the early '90s , the walls and floors were still intact so I am shocked at the amount of damage since last time I was there. If you remember, there is a farm house a little ways to the back of the school. My grandfather grew up there and attended classes at the school after it was built.
Stumbled across your video and thought I might provide a tidbit of info as I began 1st grade there in 1962. The school is Shop Springs School, located in the unincorporated community of the same name approximately halfway between Lebanon and Watertown. I couldn't tell you the exact year but I'm pretty sure it began life as a high school and later on became grades 1-8. At the time of my attendance the grades were split among three rooms with one teacher handling 1-2, another 3-5, and one more, who doubled as principal, handling 6-8. There was a cafeteria where lunch was prepared daily with home cooking and the best yeast rolls you ever put in your mouth. Descendants of the school cook run a restaurant (Depot Junction) in Watertown that still dishes up the same recipe rolls. The one large room with the stage was multipurpose study hall, gymnasium, and meeting place for PTA, etc. In those days schools were largely very local and still segregated. As the civil rights movement took hold, most small schools were closed and students were integrated into larger centralized locations. In this part of the world many of these old schools were either donated or sold to private community organizations and kept up as community centers. This particular example was never owned by the county but was privately held in its days as a school and also thereafter which led to its deterioration. In the early days the teachers were excellent and perfectly capable of handling multiple lessons and grade levels. My parents made the decision to transfer me to the local military academy in 6th grade because it had always been their goal for me to attend there and one of the excellent teachers had been superseded by one who was not so good. Hope this provides some interesting back story. If I think of something to add or correct I will return and edit this comment.
Please share more if you can. Any personal experiences you can recall ? Any stories ? Really appreciate you sharing what you did ! Thanks so much.
nbforrest9 address or anything I live in the area
@@blakebenson8133 Here's the best I can do. Shop Springs Baptist Church is at 3022 Sparta Pike, Lebanon, TN 37090. The old school was right across the street from that. I say "was" because it has been demolished within the last year. I would have answered sooner but I didn't get a notification that you had replied as I usually do.
@@ExploringwithRickBekah Stories, you say? How about when the Principal showed up one day drunk AND naked and the custodian had to spirit him away...LOL...or the plumbing that often froze in the winter necessitating the use of the outhouses. I had a very weak stomach at the time, particularly for smells, so my teacher would rather scrape my plate after lunch than clean up after me if I tried to do it myself.
This sounds like something Mark Twain might have written but there was a period when the boys would collect flies using plastic crayon boxes. I distinctly remember one of my cohorts catching one high up on the wall and slowly sliding the box down to desk level so he could put the captive in with the other prisoners of war he had already caught. He ever so slowly and diligently "jumped" the box over a chair rail to keep the unfortunate from escaping...all under the intense gaze of the Principal while the rest of us tried to contain our laughter. I can see that as plainly in my mind as if it were yesterday. Last but not least, even though I went on to become a musician of some regional note, I had no idea in first grade who the Beatles were. However, that didn't stop our parents from dressing me and three of my hapless friends up in black yarn wigs and having us sing "My Bonny Lies Over the Ocean" for a PTA meeting. In case you didn't see my reply to Blake Benson, memories are all that remain now. A month or two after your visit the old building was demolished but your video clearly showed the need for that. You can't go home again...
my 2 cents, love your videos. I grew up in the 70's and 80's. A time when schools didn't have much funding and bloated staff. as a result, I have actually attended schools like this that were still being used. The school design you just witnessed is common from the early 1920-s through the late 50's. They had a similar design. A vestibule entry (Some call it a dogwalk) with classrooms on the left and right of the entry hall. As the schools were small to large, they had this design. Gyms were added where they used to have play rooms in the 50's and rooms were expanded outward and around the gym. The gym served as a multipurpose room and originally though of as a playroom for small children. Prior to this design, schools didn't have a common standard of building. A massive fire at Collinwood school fire (also known as the Lakeview School fire) erupted on March 4, 1908, killing 172 students, two teachers and one rescuer was and is the deadliest school disasters in United States history. as a result, this school you visited is earlier than you thought. It was probably built in the early 30's when the US invested money in building safe schools. The "Ash" you mentioned at 16:52 is coal dust. They used a large furnace boiler in the basement, and the odd window is the coal chute. The huge windows were a requirement by the codes (Rules) at the time. Because of poor lighting, "The total window area should equal from 40 to 50 percent of the total wall area of the long side of the room, and in general, one-quarter the floor area of the classroom." thanks for the walk down memory lane. I can still smell the wax pellets on the floor.
www.ncef.org/pubs/greenschoolshistory.pdf
www.nps.gov/nr/feature/places/pdfs/13000035.pdf
Wow excellent history lesson! Perfect comment for this video. Thanks much!
Good information. I also agree about the coal dust. When looking at the video one can see the remains of the pipe chimneys going through the roof. The school may have had individual coal fires in each room. The one thing I must add is that the New London School Explosion on March 18, 1937 in New London Texas was the worst school disaster in the United States. Nearly 300 students and teachers were killed that day. Also, the Our Lady of Angels school fire (in Chicago) on December 1, 1958 further brought about great changes to the way schools are constructed. 92 children and 3 nuns were killed in this fire.
didn't catch that history, good job. If we could be present in the 30's I think that this is where History got it right. Investing in this common design to minimize lives at risk. With the 20's and this information just solidifies the reason for the massive buildup of schools that are similar. the London school was finished in 1933, and is the exact same design as another Scholl n Alabama, that I attended. Even though this Scholl had a new design, it couldn't match the time bomb that awaited its fate.
Which one did you attend in Alabama? I saw one similar in Russellville Alabama years ago
you are correct, it was Belgreen, near Russellville, or possibly Tharptown
www.google.com/maps/@34.5251015,-87.62097,3a,75y,9.13h,85.67t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s6v5WXvcN3FmSIwUj5ayJCQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656
At one time I'm guessing there was children's laughter and singing!! Holidays, plays, music class,and the occasional birthday!!
It's sad to see the old schools that just sit there and rot away. Thank you for sharing! Happy New Year to both of y'all!
it is an old school. those were the kind of school back when my mother was attending in the 20s and 30s. i like watching stuff like this. thank you.
WOW, I hope you two never stop exploring or making these interesting vids. It takes me to places I could never go to and otherwise would never see. Thank you sooooooo much. I enjoy your work and anxiously await every single vid. God Bless and Greetings from Massachusetts. Happy New Year!.
God bless and happy new year to you too! Glad you enjoy!
Old school buildings always had huge windows! Great find! My in-laws bought an old school building in Blackburn Mo. had two class rooms a big basement, they turned it into a great home!
Excellent filming. Nice and relaxed. Most men rush through bouncing around like rabid rabbits
lol great comment. Thx
If those walls could only talk, they could tell you a lot.
Frankie Tortonesi yes I think thay would say “your breathing led paint ,please ware a mask 😷
yes you got bekah back on the camera she's awesome on that thing really gets all details she can even some that are not mentioned makes us feel like we're right there with y'all
In 72 (9, 4th grade) my parents moved to Macon Co, N.C.. Cartoogechaye elementary was a small school. 1st to 8th grade and about 18 to 23 kids per grade. The school was built in the 50s and was torn down in 2017.
The school was long, the cafeteria at one end and the gym at the other and class room between.
The play ground had a baseball field and a swing set and a pole with a ball tied to it.
We had recess about once an hour. All meal were like home cooked.
Us kids often got chose what we wanted to learn. Every now and then a teacher would bring records and we, the whole school, would have dance parties.
In 77 I graduated 8th grade and the next year 5th - 8th went to middle school.
The recesses once an hour was in high school went away about then.
The schools I went to in NJ were kindergarten - 12th and MD was 1st - 12th.
I loved rural schools and was very lucky to get to experience what few if any kids today.
Thanks for not panning too quickly.
That school was once Brand New.....Amazing
Wow ! It made me feel nostalgic, it must have been a beautiful small school, still that beauty is not gone
Awesome find! I hope you found your ride! I wonder the history on this place. It has obviously been abandoned for over 40 years, yet there it stands!
Some metal detecting & sifting around would reveal interesting finds, including old coins!
I really love seeing trees grow around stuff and that tree gives you a good idea how long the place was abandoned.
Ahhh you two NEED too go back to this old school, and metal detect it! It look's like was added on to, probably more than once. Try looking around the baseboard's upstairs, and maybe dig, and sift the basement. You could probably find some old marble's sifting, and who know's what with your detector. Another great video, thank's for taking me along with you!!
Ms. Pete Sidewalk Yeah. Imagine if you could find some old coins from the 70s or something.
Nice find guys, schools I think are really interesting, just imagine all the children's futures that were shaped in that building. Really cool, thank you xx
A snapshot to a time when American children were actually taught something useful rather than being "socially engineered"!
Well said David ! True
David Rice no liberal biased nonsense
Amen!
This was such an awesome find!! Love it! And thanks for keepin your channel clean! It's so nice to be able to share your all's explores with my sweet 6 yr old girl. She enjoys them, too! So adorable, hearing her talk about Rick and Bekah! God bless! :)
That's great! We're so glad you entrust her to our channel. :) what an honor. Thank you.
Aww :) you're welcome! Thank YOU!
... As you know, there's not much left I can trust with her, online. Your channel is very refreshing and appreciated! :D
I could almost hear children singing, and playing at play time break ,and yet it felt a sad place,lesson for you both now your taking a lot of risks ,so think safety!!!
Wow! Beautiful! Look at the condition of those floors!
So to think there were several generations or urban explorers in the 90s, 80s and 70s at least. That means that far back people could get into this place. It's awe inspiring to know people did this kind of exploration, in the same place, for that long.
Thk u for visit to school.my husband went there in 51 but is much older. U and Becka wrk great together i feel like im there with u...by the way husband is 73 ....lol. oh would like to c more shools....Mendeota Elementary on the Holston River Rd.......Later guys.
+Exploring with Rick & Bekah
It would be interesting to go into the local county property records and deeds/court and see what the history of the property was and who owned it.
Back when I was in high school my anatomy teacher had found some student work in the classroom from the 1970's and the year was 2003.
She showed everyone that had her class in the school the work that a student have done in the 1970's
That's so cool! I would have loved to have seen it.
Looks like a good spot for an archeology dig. Amazing place!
Smashing I love your videos . Please take care, that looks so precarious where the floors are caving in.
Thanks for sharing 😆
Thanks for posting and BE CAREFUL. God Bless.
what stories this school could tell! wonderful beginning of the new yr, hope ya'll had a blessed Christmas and many more explorations to come this yr
Thanks! Happy new year and merry Christmas !
I thought maybe 30'sat first but part of that brick was over a foot thick in places on the outside walls, it suggests its quite a bit older. Those walls helped keep buildings cooler in summer and warmer in winter. Stairs in the basement were probably for the auditorium stage and broken wooden teachers desk.
This school has since been torn down. Nothing left but the bare spot on the ground where it once stood.
Good start to the year guys.
cool old school!..im guessing built around 1900 and used up into the 70's...there would have been a wood/coal stove in each bigger room for heat...you can see the hole in the ceiling in the biggest room with the stage..water is dripping through the hole onto the floor...that may have been where that stove was ...there was minimal electrical wiring and that may have been retrofit in later after the construction of the building..lots of big window was for light back before electricity...the water system is kind of a mystery to me ... looked like only a cold water faucet in that sink in the kitchen and no sign of a hot water tank in the basement...they probably just heated water on the stoves...the water system and bathrooms were probably added later also..often called water-closets since they would add the bathroom into pre-existing closets...so there must have had to be a well and electric pump in the basement to feed those toilets,but i didnt see where it was...but i bet there was just a hand dug well outside somewhere at first and outhouses...just be careful of old wells, they sometimes get covered up with old boards and vegetation grows on them and the boards rot..there just like a trap and you would fall right in!...most of the time there covered with a stone slab though.. boy what id give to metal detect around there!..especially if they start grading off the area around the building before demolition!.... the walk way to and around where the outhouses where would be a great place to detect!..schools and church's have always the best places for me!!
Thanks Lonny. I might detect this place if I have time.
The random stairs to nowhere looked more like specific stairs. They looked like they'd fit the cut out in the front of the stage.
Reminded me of Grade School (K - 5th). Third Floor was long gone; and half of the rest had been condemned, torn down, and replaced with a new one story building connected. When I was in 4th Grade (on the second floor of the old half) that part got condemned. 5th Grade was in a hallway in the new section while the two story old half was being torn down and replaced with another one story building connected. We had black slate chalkboards. It's a Library now. Asbestos was a big concern. Your explore looked very dangerous to me. I think that building should have a high fence around it with no trespassing signs; or be demolished. I don't know if it would be safe to salvage any of the still decent woodwork or bricks.
nice!!!,,,always waiting for your videos.
I used to be one of the hoodlum kids that spray painted the place. It was just turned into a farm to table restaurant. Great place. It's called Old School :)
The School name is on the front of the overhang, front entrance. You should have shown the row of outhouses out back. Also the huge cement water tank with the old cement tunnel and restrooms built under it. The back is the best part.
At 9:54...... is that a lightbulb hanging from the ceiling?? Such an odd shape. Very cool place. Thank you for sharing yet another great video.
1966 the first school house I went to will similar sugar is 1 through 6 hello little Auditorium or Assembly Hall. Most of the schools in the area were primary through Junior High Junior and senior after that even in the town of Shawnee. The walls were darker seem to me like middle school I went to but. We're similar Schoolhouse there
This place may have a crawl space under the basement floor but I like how you can even see into the ceiling.
This is bigger than I thought it was. Schools started off in one room with all the same grade in the one room. There wasn’t even a bathroom. Kids had to use outhouses. No indoor plumbing. We’ve come along way. Now schools look like prisons.
18:00 I would've taken that as a keep-sake.
cool find...stay safe...Happy New Year..
It would be cool to know the history of this place.
Great vid.
Really cool old school
awesome place guys ... great explore
I like how it is so decayed that the walls have simply cracked.
Bekah! Great camera work. You have to teach those other guys how to do it.
Strange that "Men Teachers" was stenciled on the inside of the door and not on the side facing the main room. Those toilets in the basement appear to be NOS (new old stock), kept on hand to be used as replacements for broken toilets. I bet you'd find a lot of coins on the property, kids are notoroius for losing pocket change.
Davilo Olivad That's what I thought too , probably not the original door
Love your videos. Just wondering why you didn't take shots from the outside ?? Specially when it collapse like this one. Again; great work !!!
Think it was surrounded by brush and woods at the time.
Great find!!
Cool! I wish we had places like that around here.
С Новым Годом вас!🎆🎄🎇2017.👍👍
Just found your channel and am impressed with the filming ,nice and slow to actually see the place ,well done Subscribed.
Thanks Scotsman
The Toilet Graveyard. LOL!!
I was thinking that would be a great place to do some metal detecting...lol then you said that...if you do you should record it! I would love to see what you find there. Awesome video again! I seriously like your videos more than others. Can you just imagine what stories those walls heard?
I heard that the little boys that attended here used to burn milk cartons at the end of each day. Sounds like fun !
Don't know if I would want to burn milk cartons..but its still one of those stories that would be interesting to learn about.
Hey both of you do a really good job with the camera.
Keep up the really good job I love watching these videos. 👻
Glad you like
I'm just listening because I've seen it before and I'm putting makeup on before I leave, and without even thinking about it I said aloud to the empty room "Blow your nose, Bekah!" Once a mom always a mom, apparently. I hate having a runny nose and I'm not shy about carrying an old school hanky. I know I'd need one there for sure!
I hear ya there ! I tell her to blow her nose all the time lol. Do you always listen to our videos when applying makeup ? 😁
Music usually, but today I got a notice from your channel and kept it going after I watched the new video. I've loved exploring since I was a toddler so I live vicariously through exploration videos. You guys find the Best stuff!! I only subscribe to a few more, but I have seen many. You are definitely a favorite!
That was awesome!
Fascinating find. Interesting structure. Maybe a middle or high school? The bathrooms were interesting. And the lower level spooky indeed. It would be cool if we could do a time lapse back in time and see the decline and the structural damage origins -- and of course the school days with the teachers and pupils. Again, wonder what happened...Building would have had a relatively short life if built in late 40's or 50's and only operated intil the 1970's perhaps...I like how things like door hardware and fixtures (eg., toilets) help date the buildings.
PS, After reading through the comments, I see my estimates are just a little off...Love you guys' work. Interesting variety and it is great to see your wonder and reactions as you explore...
I believe this one was built in 1935 or so. I would love to see the time lapse from so long ago til now.
Hi, stay safe while you and your wife are out filming, I really don't understand why they leave it empty? When they stop using it as a school, why don't someone buy it and turn it into a home, and make use of the building , so sad it's just going to waste
Can Not Believe,, Real old it is Just too much... 🌷😨😨😨😨🌷
Check out that faint light that movies across the room. @ 17:13. its like an orb or something, maybe an insect.
Loved that first still shot
It's like that little plant down there is trying to become a tree but none make it. One of these days a tree will eventually grow right through the floor.
looks like earthquake damaged , the entire foundation has shifted, and the walls cracked, wow...
The stars to nowhere reminds me of a Doctor Who perception filter or how in one episode there was a fake extra room of a house that wasn't really there.
Those beams in the basement 'ceiling' look in relatively pristine shape.
hello guys and happy new year.
Yes interesting old school I would bring metal detector back for under the school for sure !!
Cool thanks for showing!
You also have to realize there have been many generations to children that would have flooded the entire place several times a day and some of the students would have even grown up to come back and teach there.
I like your Sound Track you use....
School was built around 1935 and closed in 1969.
Oh wow really ? What else you know ?
republican mother why did it close?
Happy New Year !
Nice video!😜👍
love it
I agree this was a school. To be spacific this was a space savoir country school. I'm guessing it was used for rural farmer children Elementary probably from like 1930 to like 1970's at the latest. Rural meaning not inter city, but like farming community. Kids were sent here from distances to go to school of course, and because farming was spread out for land, some came a distance. Usually they would walk to like the nearest highway to catch a bus from dirt roads to minimize travel. New regulations would have started coming in and they would have closed the school by 1975 or something. The first room is definently the main entry hallway; it might seem big when 2 adults walk in there; however the first class room has the spacing for 35 to 40 students depending on age. Then you returned and went to a room with a stage, now this room would be the play house; a place to meat with parents as a group; or for every day I can see a lunch room, the tables would be moved away for lunch being over. Now the room in the rear of the playhouse was probably for older grades probably like 4-6th or some variation. the second room is probably like a project room for events the classroom, possibly art, science, etc and a storage space which you dared not enter barely. Also it can be used for a work space as well as a swing classroom for work for specific projects. All in all I'm gonna guess they wished for this school to accommodate possibly 30 - 60 students. Now you might wonder why there would be no kitchen for hot lunch, well this is because the school is a old Tennessee Homestead Act School built to make it so children being raised on farms can go to school. A lot didn't have money to pay for hot lunches so space wasn't required. Bagged food was brought as farming families were more based on provision of stock. Some even closed by 1960. The one you visited is structurally safe in the front, but the back end is ready for a full collapse, they built the building on the cheapest land.
You know your stuff. This place was built in the 30s and closed in the 70s. Again thanks for your valuable knowledge
yep, your welcome. But I am a bit surprised that you didn't attempt to collect the mason jars to check there composition because theirs value in old mason jars. I know this property will be hard to metal detect, but I think you should metal detect it outside the rear of the doors. Try to look at it from a geology view to see what it would have looked like 50 years ago, and think about places bored kids on a break might go in that period. From my study they liked tire swings, field space to play ball, rivers...etc. Try to find what they might have left behind. Kids back then were given few things, but they hoarded things back then we view in collectors sense today. But you got some rough terrain there.
The land was cleared. I went all over with a detector. No keepers. Must have been detected years ago. No good finds. Only modern trash.
must be a really old school as each room had a place for some type of stove pipe heater.
It wouldn't surprise me it didn't have a central boiler.
Yes loads of coal!
The "basement" was for the furnace, hot water, storage etc. Where are you guys from?
We're in TN
Thanks. Can you advise where? I went to Porter Jr. Hi for last of my 8th year, then started as Freshman and had to move a few weeks later to Mentor, where I went to Alcoa for Freshman and first few weeks of Sophomore, then on to Youngs(dating myself here...!) until Feb of my Senior year. From the Maryville/Knoxville area went to East Syracuse and graduated there, with a class I hardly knew. Porter was in Wildwood and Mentor was on outskirts of MvGhee-Tyson AFB where my Father was stationed. While at Porter I lived on Old Sam Houston School Road with the Little Tennessee River a couple of football fields behind my house. We explored the school house one time before it was gussied up to be an open tourist site. There were knee high weeds all around it with an old beat up wooden sign that said, "NO SMOKING State Historic Site." I have a jillion memories from those 6 years. Definitely the most fun and happiest of my life.
Be careful in old buildings. You have three things you can breathe: Asbestos, lead from the powdery paint, and mold. And structurally too many to list.
What kind of Camera were yall using?
This was with our old Panasonic v770.
Somebody cleaned that school out pretty well - no desk or anything
Wonder if they pick up any voices when they looked at the footage
I agree with those who say a back story would add a lot to this video!
Hardly any history about this place that I could find. Ran from 1935ish to 1969.
Is there any way to find out the history on this place?
I have a couple questions.
Do you remember if this place was located near any homes? Possibly any kids nearby?
@5:47 I hear a possible kid's voice yelling "... coming". I hear it clear on my headphones, especially on the left side, as if the "voice" is coming from the left of you two. I could be hearing things lol
Loving this video, btw! And what my ears possibly picked up makes it even better.
Apparently me and Bekah appreciate old door handles.
good video
What state was this in? It's nice setting unlike today's schools. The shame of waste it's quite old.
This is middle Tennessee
I live in middle Tennessee in Maury county . And have traveled the lower middle Tennessee. Look familiar.
great video!
Thx vaidas
maybe one of the old locals could prolly tell you the history of the place cool vid
awesome thank you.
I bet this old school dates back to the 30s
To bad there's graffiti. *\(^o^)/* keep videos coming
We enjoy them thanks. 😃
Craftsman era architecture. 1910-1920s and some probably built in the 30s.
I wish they could have saved it
My neighbor just tore down an old school house with books still in it .Somewhere in Tennessee