Houston County Vintage Classroom – Preserving the history of excellence

The vintage classroom at the Houston County Board of Education central office has a new location that provides additional space for visitors to enjoy.

This past summer, Houston County School Superintendent Mark Scott and his staff approved the new location. Scott said it features and re-creates the ambiance of yesterday’s school with desks, textbooks, sports memorabilia, and photographs of the past that bring back memories to older generations and help current students understand their grandparents’ educational experiences.

“We are very proud to have expanded upon this classroom,” Scott said. “Where it originally was set up in the front, there was barely any room for guests to walk through and enjoy. But we want this to reflect the value that’s been placed on education in Houston County for a long time. We always say we’re very fortunate that our community supports public education.”

In two years, the Houston County school system will celebrate its 150th anniversary, as the first schools started in Houston County were in 1870. In the 1870’s, the school system started out with 36 community schools that only accommodated two classrooms each. Scott said the community schools were built and resembled houses. Fast-forward to today, and the school system now has 38 campuses that accommodate over 30,000 students, with most schools having thousands of square feet.

“It wasn’t until around 1873 when the community schools were reported to the state,” Scott said. “They were centered around the population and members of the community took it upon themselves to build those schools. We have far exceeded growth since then, but one thing that has never changed since 1870, in my opinion looking back over archives, is that education in general is no different than it was back then. Yes, we certainly have more resources and have come a long way with technology, but the most important thing is the teachers and the impact they have on students.”

Scott went on to say that it didn’t matter back then about just having the basic materials – it was all about the passion from the teachers.

“Back then, a lot of values and morals were taught as well, and that has been passed on throughout our community today,” Scott said. “It’s what’s important to our community. It’s people like Larry Walker, who is a graduate of Perry High School, and has remained in the area a long time. The biggest compliment comes from him saying how proud he is of what our school district is doing. There are so many other families that have had many generations come through the school system, graduated, and remained in Houston County. I believe it is a great tribute to our community and it’s the shoulders we stand on today for our success.”

The vintage classroom is free admission and open to the public on weekdays (except holidays) from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. To get more of a sense of the classroom and history, Beth McLaughlin, Director of Community and School Affairs, said there is a video on the school system’s website, www.hcbe.net, on the vintage classroom’s page called “If These Walls Could Talk,” which gives real-life accounts of teaching and living in Perry circa 1925. The video also describes life in Perry and how the city changed during World War II. McLaughlin said many of the speakers in the video were teachers who taught in the Perry community.

McLaughlin also encourages anyone who would like to donate a copy of any pictures of the school system or diplomas from years ago, you can scan and email to the central office or stop by and a staff member can make a copy.