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Tracking the Tracts: School Locations
Originally, I planned to find just high schools. Those were the lists I had. But then I found that beginning in 1957, the Department of Education printed cumulative school lists. Actually, the lists date back to the 1930s, but they were only cumulative for white schools. They tracked accredited black schools and then made a stab at an admitted non-cumulative list in 1956. In 1957, they knew the names of all public schools. Because of these lists, I have begun tracking elementary schools. They are generally harder to find than high schools and have a much lower survival rate. Some, though, are surviving despite everything, such as New Hope Elementary in Worth County.
I do not have a list put together of elementary schools I cannot locate, yet. The directories have addresses for major school systems, such as Atlanta City, Richmond County, Muscogee County, Chatham County, DeKalb County, and Bibb County. I can find where these schools are (or were). Rural systems are a bit trickier. If anyone knows one that isn't photographed below and is likely hard to find, please contact me.
I've been using the following tools to track down locations:
CONFIRMED AS COMPLETELY DEMOLISHED
| Bozeman | Hawkinsville |
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| Corry | Greensboro |
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| East Depot* | LaGrange |
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| Eva Thomas | College Park |
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| Hill** | Lafayette |
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| Kaigler | Georgetown |
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| Mitchell County Training | Pelham |
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| Murden/Taliaferro County | Crawfordville |
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| Shellman Vocational | Shellman |
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| South Fulton | East Point |
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| Westside | Valdosta |
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* The concrete foundation is still quite visible, though.
** The only GIA high school from the later years known to be completely destroyed by fire.
MOSTLY/PARTIALLY DEMOLISHED
| Emery Street | Dalton |
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| Excelsior | Rochelle |
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| Hutto* | Bainbridge |
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| Lynwood Park | Chamblee |
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| Monitor** | Fitzgerald |
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| Ocilla High & Industrial*** | Ocilla |
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| Oconee | Dublin |
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| ? Stephens | Calhoun |
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| Thompson Street | Cochran |
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| Washington Street | Quitman |
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In almost all cases listed above, the gymnasium has been saved.
* Hutto is currently a mix of new and old buildings, mostly new.
** Part of Monitor is in use as the Monitor Enrichment Center. The older part - built with help of a Rosenwald grant - is abandoned. A chunk of the school is gone completely, possibly because of a 1971 arson attempt.
*** Part of the middle of Ocilla High & Industrial is missing. The remaining southern end is a daycare/head start and a small portion of the northern end is abandoned.
STATUS UNKNOWN
The site location has been determined, but Google's street view hasn't driven close enough to judge what exactly is standing on the property.
| Cedar Hill | Cedartown |
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| Mary Johnson | Franklin |
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| West End | Hogansville |
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| Woodbury Colored | Woodbury |
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THE MISSING
I am unable to locate where these schools were. For some, I have suspicions, but don't feel comfortable enough to positively identify. Emails confirming a location or offering clues are very welcome.
| Carver | Richmond Hill |
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| Cusseta Industrial | Cusseta |
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| Drake | Thomaston |
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| Glascock County Training | Gibson |
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| Greenville Colored | Greenville |
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| Ida S. Lowery | Preston |
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| Lee County Training | Leesburg |
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| Meriwether County Training | Manchester |
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| Pickens County Training | Tate |
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| Sylvania Central | Sylvania |
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| Wilson* | Ringgold |
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* I have seen that Wilson is currently Ringgold's ROTC building, but I'm a bit hesitant to believe that.
SEEING THE SITES
Includes high schools and elementary schools. These are from my Flickr account and are divided in counties. The link will take you to the county's page. You'll have to click 'back' to return to this site.
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