By Beverly Belcher Woody
At the request of Pastor Wayne Moore of High Point Baptist Church in Stuart, Virginia, I began looking into the history of the old High Point School House. Pastor Moore stated that at one time the schoolhouse was located at the corner of Big A School Road and High Point Church Road. What I found was not just the story of a building, but the story of a community—one that gathered, learned, worshipped, and worked together within its walls.
High Point School House stood as a quiet but steady presence in the Mayo River community, a place where generations of children learned their lessons, and neighbors came together for the shared work of daily life. Long before modern conveniences, the schoolhouse served as the center of activity—a place where education, agriculture, faith, and fellowship all met.
As early as 1861, the importance of the school is clearly recorded. School records stated that “Bernard W. Price agreed to teach an English School at High Point School House for five months at $5.00 per scholar….” Even in those early years, families valued education enough to support a teacher and send their children, laying the foundation for generations to come.
Over time, the school became much more than a place of instruction. It was a gathering place where neighbors met to support one another. An announcement in the Enterprise dated January 24, 1918, called the community together with urgency and purpose:
“At High Point School on Saturday afternoon… there will be a meeting to discuss the buying of fertilizer for spring crops. Let every farmer come out and get his fertilizer ordered now.”
In those simple words, we see the cooperation and shared responsibility that defined rural life in Patrick County.
The schoolhouse also served as a place of worship and spiritual gathering. Even when attendance was small, the doors remained open. An Enterprise notice dated February 7, 1918, reported that “Rev. T. H. Francisco filled his regular appointment at High Point School House Sunday afternoon. Owing to the inclemency of the weather the congregation was rather small.” Through fair weather and foul, the schoolhouse remained a place where faith and community endured.
The rhythm of daily life can also be seen in the smaller, quieter notices that appeared in the newspapers. One such line from the Enterprise dated November 22, 1911, reads, “Miss Ellen Tudor, who is teaching at the High Point School, spent Saturday with her parents near here.” Though brief, it reminds us that behind the school were real people—teachers, students, and families—woven together in the life of the community.
As the years passed, change came, as it so often does. A meeting of the Mayo River District School Board was reported in the Enterprise on April 28, 1921, “at High Point school house…to consider the advisability of consolidating the Rough, Poor House, and High Point schools…all expressed themselves as favoring consolidation.” The trustees later decided to discontinue the smaller schools and build a new, larger school, marking the end of an era for the original High Point School House.
Eventually in 1928, the building itself was offered for sale by S. T. Newman, a quiet closing chapter in its long history. “I offer for sale a one acre lot and good building (formerly High Point School House) …located on a public road and in a good neighborhood.”
Yet even as the building’s purpose changed, its legacy did not fade.
Scattered across the pages of old newspapers, these small notices—meetings, sermons, school terms, and everyday happenings—come together to tell a much larger story. They reveal a place that was never just a school, but the heart of a community.
Within its walls, children learned their lessons, farmers planned their crops, neighbors gathered in times of need, and faith was quietly practiced. It was a place where life unfolded in its simplest and most meaningful forms.
Today, the High Point School House may no longer stand as it once did, but its story remains—carried in memory, in records, and in the lives of those who once passed through its doors.
And in remembering it, we are reminded that the true strength of a community is not found in its buildings, but in the people who gather within them, working, learning, and living side by side.
Thank you to Pastor Moore for sharing the idea for this story. For questions, comments, or story ideas, you may contact Woody at rockcastlecreek1@gmail.com or 276-692-9626.
