Denton NC School History and Photos - View Denton School Memory Photos Here...............  [photos below] Research by Bert Lanier
The first school building ever erected at Denton was built in 1886, on a
spacious lot purchased from A. A. Snider. This building, which stood
where the high school's parking lot now is, was paid for mainly, if not
entirely, by Dr. A. Anderson, Robert Tysinger, Andrew J. Buie, and Jacob
Skeen. It was about 22 by 40 feet in size, was built of good pine
lumber, complete with belfry and front porch, in the~ style of those
days, and was considered a credit to the community. The first schools
taught in this building were private undertakings, and no records
showing the number of pupils or the length of the various terms are now
extant. In 1894 the county board of education took steps to form a public school district around the schoolhouse, and appointed James Asbury Snider, Alexander A. Snider and William H. Garner as the new district's first committee. The first teacher employed by this committee was a young man from Trinity, in Randolph County, Charles W. Briles, whose work was so satisfactory that the committee was glad to employ him for a second term. Briles subsequently became the first Superintendent of Public Instruction in the State of Oklahoma. Following Mr. Briles, the next public school at Denton seems to have been taught by B. I. Harrison, who according to local tradition, rendered good service. In the fall of 1897, the boundaries of the district having been enlarged, a tall sandy-haired schoolmaster, a former resident of Kernersville and a graduate of Oak Ridge Institute, J. A. Stone, came to Denton, taught the public school and a short-term private school at the end of the public term. Stone's work met with such approval that he decided to establish an academy capable of pre- paring young men and women for college. Accordingly, in January, 1898, Stone purchased from Robert Tysinger, then sole owner, all the land included in and known as the school grounds, which lay on both sides of the Salisbury Road, and proceeded to erect what was locally considered a fine "academy," a two-story structure; 40 by 60 feet in size, with porch and portico on the south front, with duplex stairways that led to the auditorium. Painted white and trimmed in yellow, it was almost certainly the finest rural school building in Davidson County, with the exception of the brick building at Yadkin College. For the first term in the new building, Principal Stone employed as assistant principal a young graduate of Wake Forest College, J. 0. Purnell. He also employed two other teachers, one for music and one for primary work. Pupils came in from miles around, and several others came from a longer distance and boarded with local families. At the first commencement (or rather exhibition, since there were no graduates to commence), which was held in May, 1899, a long program of recitations and declamations was rendered, and the literary address (according to an old program) was delivered by the Hon. Theodore F. Kluttz, lawyer, orator, and Congressman from Salisbury. The largest crowd ever seen in Denton up to that time was present, there was a brass band to enliven the festivities, dinner on the grounds, and a good time was apparently enjoyed by all present. The next fall the Institute opened with the same number of teachers, a fairly good enrollment, and during the fall term appeared to be doing good work. A dormitory-and-teacher's home was started and almost completed during 1899-1900, and until sometime after Christmas the outlook for the Institute seemed to be good. But sometime after Christmas, for some reason, which is now not clear, attendance fell off, and as Mr. Stone was rather heavily in debt for his new buildings, and as some of his creditors were pressing him for payment, he was confronted with a difficult situation. Much worried over the situation, Stone suddenly left the community one day in February, 1900, without telling anyone his destination. When he returned a few weeks later, the school had been closed, his teachers had left, and Stone soon found that he had lost many of his former friends. The next fall Stone was unable to open his Denton Institute, and there was no more teaching on the high school level at Denton until the fall of 1906, when the Rev. George L. Reynolds took charge of the academic building and founded a private institution known as Denton High School. Subsequently there were two other schools of particular interest that were used before the County bought the Reynolds property and turned it into a County School. The first was a log building on the south end of the lot where the present Legion hut now stands. The second building was across the street, located where the Terrell Trailer Park now stands. This building had both primary and high school facilities. R. C. Powell later converted it into an attractive private house. Click on Photos for Larger View View Denton School Memory Photos Here...............
Info by: Jim Harrison , grandson of BI Harrison
Click on Photo for larger view  Denton High School - I was just thinking… about the “NEW SCHOOL”! By Wayne MillerBelow are some school Photos of denton district schools that were consolidated in denton in 1927 Click on Photos for Larger View
View Denton School Memory Album Photos Here............... South Davidson High School replaced Denton High School in 1989 located 3 miles north of denton on hwy. 109 
Printable Version School History/Photos document is publicly viewable at: http://docs.google.com/View?id=dcphrjtm_12crnjvqhc Denton_NC_School_History_Photos.pdf - 406k View Download View these photos above in Slide Show Here............  Subpages : 1933 Denton Baseball Field Contract B 52 Crash near Denton NC 1961 Bert Lanier Contributions of BI Harrison told by grandson Jim Harrison Denton Churches Denton Depot HP.T&D Railroad Denton Doctor History Denton Folks Denton History Denton Library Denton Misc old building photos Denton NC first Fire Truck Denton School History/Photos Howell Harrison contributions to the growth and development of Denton. Jabber Lanier story by Buddy Max Lanier Veterans of Denton Area |
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