LITTLE ROCK SCHOOL
By Bobbie Sue Shelton

Little Rock School was located on Little Rock Road about three and ½ miles northeast of Eagleville on land owned by James E. Jackson, great grandfather of Johnny Taylor of Eagleville. The school building was directly across the road from the Jackson home (later home of Rush Sr. and Audrey Taylor). This school was established about 1884. The two-room building was weather boarded with shutters hinged on the outside for the windows. The play area was large enough for ball games. Water was carried in buckets from the Jackson home to the school. Located nearby in an adjoining field was the Tiling Factory, (where clay water drainage pipes was made). The property on which the school and tiling factory was previously located is now owned by Johnny Taylor. A store was also located in the same area at the intersection of Little Rock Road and North Lane. The original building burned and was rebuilt in the same location. The re-built store with additions is presently a farm implement business owned and operated by Ronnie and Steve McDaniel. In the early 1900’s the store was a local gathering place for the men of the community at night. They would set on the porch and catch up on all the news of the day.

Front Row: John Love, Ora Mai Love Jackson, Daisy Underwood Maupin, Audrey Jackson Taylor, Higgins Brown, Fender Ralston, Charles Ralston, Rush Taylor Sr., Alex Ralston, Dave Underwood, Ed Brown, Sam Rutledge. Second Row: Bess Jackson Buchanan, Bess Brown Calhoun, Carrie Sims Ralston, Johnnie Burns Hale, Maude Manier Scott, Willie Jackson, Luna Simmons Smotherman, Jimmy Manier Powers, Allie Mai Manier Scott, Emma Love Neal, Florence Walls Reeves, Bessie Read, Alta Reed, Guffee Lorance, Willie Sims, Bee Rutledge, Ed Rutledge. Third Row: Susie Stegall Lewis, Teacher Wayhat Ralston, Kate Love Foster, Macy Lee Ralston, Willie Ralston, Kate Brown, Jim Alcorn, Fannie Giles Killough, Crawford Ralston, Julia Morgan Smithson, Tom Floyd , Principal. Fourth Row: Mary Alcorn Victory, Lemmie Dick Smotherman, Oma Gregory Musgrave, Jodie Ralston, Nash Ralston Reed, Sadie Brown.

Lizzie Garrett Dyer taught in the Little Rock School about 1890. In 1902 the teachers were Tom Floyd and Susie Stegall Lewis. Others who taught about 1900 were Wate Lowe, Leonard Landis (about 1905), Lottie Ralston and Minnie Myrtle Ralston Owens. Others who taught later were: Bessie Buchanan, Era Steele, Kate Love Collier, and Jimmie Manier. Georgia Lee Marable (Pate) was teacher for the 1921-22 school year. Mary McKnight Manley was the last teacher at this school. At the time that Bessie Jackson Buchanan taught, about 1911, she was the only teacher and she had so many students she had to teach during recess to get all the classes taught. When Jimmie Manier was scheduled to be hired in about 1916, as a second teacher, the enrollment lacked one student to meet the requirement to warrant another teacher so Margaret Scott, age 5 at the time, stayed with her aunt Jimmie Manier to attend the Little Rock School for that year. She made the extra student needed for the school to have two teachers.

First Row: Howard Ralston, Sircy Ralston, Richard Williams. Second Row: Lula Mai Ralston Burns, ____Freeman, ____Freeman, Ruby Turner Lenz, Unknown, ____Ralston, Mary Sue Maupin Perrell, ____Ralston, Bessie Williams, ____Freeman, ____Freeman. Third Row: Miss Lottie Ralston, Teacher, Unknown, Bertha Turner Snow, Audrey Jackson Taylor, Jose Lee Williams Brown, Julie Freeman, Emma Lee Williams O’Keefe, Cora Ralston Williams. Back Row: Dickie Williams, Marvin Rutledge, Ivan Taylor, Willie Gray Williams, Elmer Vaughn, John Turner, Buford Ralston, Clara Maupin Kelton, Elaine Taylor Landis.

When the Little Rock School was closed in 1923, the building was torn down and the lumber was moved and used to build the Pleasant Hill School.

The late Mary Sue “Mammy” Maupin Perrell, a life long resident of the Eagleville area attended Little Rock School while growing up. She and the late Mrs. Audrey Jackson Taylor were best of school-friends and that friendship carried over to their adult years. Several years before Mammy Perrell’s death, her children recorded some of her memories, which included her school days at Little Rock and surrounding community. The following were her comments:

Question: How old were you? Answer: I don’t know. Oh five years old I guess. I started to school when I was five years old. Mr. Manier went to school up there.

Question: Where? Answer: Little Rock. That’s up here where Rush Taylor, you know Audrey Taylor lives. There use to be an old store there. When the store burnt up they built a new store and then a lot of the old men, they wanted to skate. They put the skates on Mr. Joe Jackson and Mr. Ralph Jackson, both of um was big and fat and couldn’t stand up. They was all down in the floor. Pappy (her father, George W. Maupin) used to go out there at the store, like men will for a while at night and there was an old man, his name was Jackie Alcorn and they kept a barrel of red pepper. This old man didn’t have no teeth and Pappy said he’d eat stick candy or anything anybody would give me. Pappy got some stick candy and rubbed it all in that red pepper and give it to him. Pappy said he just licked and slobbered. He was about a hundred years old.

Question: Who was your teacher? Answer: Aw, there was two rooms there and for a while they had two teachers and finally they just got down and had one teacher, Miss Kate. Aw Mr. Landers was my first teacher and then I had Miss Kate Love and then Mr. Manier’s sister was my last teacher that I had up there you know at Little Rock.

Question: What did you study in school? Answer: Aw, we just had arithmetic. We first was on the chart like a calendar, hanging up on the wall and they had a big stick. The teacher did and he’d turn this over you know and he’d point out you know and all of us young’uns would stand around him you know and tell him what it was, and then after we got down off the chart we went into a primmer and then from the primmer you see, then we went into the first grade and then the second grade and you know on down like that.

Question: What is some of the things the young’uns used to do? Answer: Lord, I don’t know. We use to get up there at Little Rock, get up and we’d pull little old cedar trees down and then one of us would get up in the top of um and they’d turn us loose and man we’d ride on down that cedar tree.

Question: How did you get back and forth from school? Answer: We walked. The bell would rang sometime before we got there and man we would nearly run ourself to death. One time I had my dinner in a little bucket and I fell down. I had some pickled peaches in it and here went my peaches just a rolling in the dust. One time we’s at the school house and saw Pap a coming with a little bucket you know about 10:30 and ah, so dreckly Pap knocked, and the teacher went to the door and she said “Mary Sue your daddy wants to speak to you” and I went to the door and Pap said, “Get that bucket yall brought up here” said “that’s a bucket of cracklins, yall didn’t get your dinner bucket” and said “I was a plowing and Bet come to the field”, poor old thang he had done walked two or three miles you know to bring our bucket up there with our dinner in it.

Question: Did you go to school all year or how long did you go? Answer: Naw, we just got to go you know just kinda in the fall or pretty weather and thru the winter and all we didn’t hardly get to go to school cause it was too far to walk when it was cold and muddy and bad.

Question: What did you wear? Answer: Well just anything we could get to put on.

Question: A bonnet? Answer: Naw if it was cold weather, we had an old something tied on our head or an old cap or some’m another I reckon you know to put on.

Mammy Perrell has several children, grandchildren and great grandchildren presently living in the Eagleville area. They are so fortunate to have these and many other memories recorded. Mammy (b. 1900 d. 1994) and her husband Rosco (b. 1898 d. 1973) were parents of 12 children and friends of all who knew them.

Early Schools - POSSUM TROT SCHOOL

The first Possum Trot School existed from 1878 to 1896. It was located in the western part of Rutherford County on a dirt road about 1½ miles south of the old dirt Franklin Road and west of the present Coleman Hill Road. The school was a one-room log building about twenty by twenty-four feet. The seats were eight feet long benches. Equally long slant-top desks about 3 ½ feet high faced the benches. The tops of the desks could be raised and the ink and copybooks could be stored inside the desk. There was usually a writing period just before noon when pupils stood and had their writing lesson. The nearest well was about ½ mile away and the building was surrounded with cedars with no other building in sight.

In 1882 Thomas Morgan Patterson came to Possum Trot to clerk in the country store and to teach in the one-room school. Sometime later he wrote to Washington, requesting a post office and suggesting a name. Because the name he proposed had already been given to a post office in Tennessee, the government gave the community the name of Patterson in 1888.

Patterson School established in 1896 and disband in 1953, was first located on the south side of the present Coleman Hill Road about ½ mile east of the Patterson Road and Coleman Hill intersection. On October 31, 1896, R. L., W. G., and Evie Pate signed a deed for two acres for a school in the 47th District of Rutherford County to J. I. Dyer, W. I. Pate and T. J. Wary, Jr., school directors. This was a one-room building with a bell tower. In 1911 or 1912, the school building was moved to its second site near the southeast corner of the intersection on land owned by W. I. Pate.

Moving the school building to its new location caused excitement in the community. Mr. Grey of Murfreesboro pulled the schoolhouse down the road with a mule. Former students remembered that nothing could deter the teacher, Mai White from teaching her classes in the school while it was being moved. By 1917 a room had been added.

In 1929 Jimmie D. Vaughan erected a modern two-room building with a kitchen. Florence Maxwell was the first cook when hot lunches began being served. Louise Maxwell also was the cook at one time. The students had to bring their own plate, cup, knife and fork to school each day. Water was drawn from an outside well, carried inside and poured into a water cooler. The school built in 1929 was converted into a home and is still used as a residence.

STUDENTS AT PATTERSON SCHOOL

1st. Row: Raymond Pate, Grady Patterson, John Hill, Howard Thomas, Sammy Watson, Edward Hawkins, Grady Thomas, Thomas Patterson, Bill Patterson, James Hill, Thomas Hill, Hershey Wray, Willliams Wray.
2nd Row: Jesse Morris, Ruby Hill, Usia Pate, Ruby West, Mary Carlton (Ralston) Teacher, Myra McCrory (Morris) Teacher, Georgia Snell, Gladys Morris, Thelma Watson, Willie Dyer, Jimmy D. Walls.
3rd Row: Georgia Lee Walls, Evie Mae Dyer, Maggie Mae Dyer, Pearl Lee Patterson, Mable Patterson, Elizabeth Patterson, Viola Pate, Elizabeth Hill, Elrie Windrow.

Patterson School had several teachers over the years. Maggie Floyd was the teacher in 1907; Minnie Floyd, in 1908; Abbey Floyd Beasley, in 1909; Mai White in about 1911. Others were Lula Tolbert, Annie Ashley, Daisy Adams Wray, Bessie Tolbert Holden, Pauline Scales, Ray Donnell, Miss Tilford, Ophelia Elam, Margaret Brandon, Georgia Lee Marable Pate, Christine Couch, Vera Maxwell, Vera Covington, Louise Beasley, Mary Carlton, Wilma Bean, Virginia Cobb, Miss Gardner and Myra McCrory Morris. Many of the teachers boarded at the homes of Molly Pate Snell and Eulalia Vaughn Patterson.

Ray Donnell, a teacher at his first school, was the basketball coach. During tournaments, the teams would played all day until, at the final game of the night, a champion was announced.

Mrs. Myra McCrory Morris, a former student returned to teach at the Patterson School soon after her graduation from State Teachers College in Murfreesboro in 1931 and stayed until the school was closed in 1953 Miss McCrory, a single lady at the time, boarded with the Robert Patterson family when she began her teaching career at Patterson. Mrs. Morris was a respected disciplinarian by her former students. One former student, Buddy Pate, principal of Eagleville School, remembers one day during the last year at Patterson School, the students all agreed that the next day, they would dress as cowboys and bring their cap guns to school. Mrs. Morris confiscated all their play guns and didn’t let them have them back till the end of the school year. After the school closed at the end of the 1952-53 school year, Mrs. Morris taught the following year at Middleton School. In 1954, she came to Eagleville School, replacing Mr. D. L. Manier, who had retired. Mrs. Morris retired from Eagleville School in 1970. Mrs. Morris was the mother of Joann Shelton of Eagleville.

In the early school years some of the children often rode ponies to school and kept them in a barn on the property. They would bring corn from home to feed their ponies at noon. Many of the students walked several miles to school. A lot of the students had chores to do before they even came to school in the mornings.

Some of the early family names of students were; Watson, Snell, Morris, Hill, Pate, Patterson, Windrow, Jordan, Maxwell, Heaton, Neal, Frost, White, Wilson, Lamb, Dyer, Barnes, Ghee, and Wray.

The last class in 1952-53 had thirteen students, six grades and one teacher. Most of the students transferred to Eagleville School. The last students were: Annette Ralston (Chick), Edwina Anderson (Cundiff), Ronald Ralston, David Ralston, Butch Hewitt, Patty Deford, Tommy Scruggs, Charles Scruggs, Sammie Scruggs, Buddy Pate, Mary Ann Pate (Langley), Marvin King, and Roy Mears (?).

On July 9, 1955 the Rutherford County School Commission deeded to R. H. Patterson the two acres of school property.

In the late 1800’s and early 1900’s the Eagleville Community like most rural communities had several small schools scattered in different areas. At this time it wasn’t uncommon for children to walk or ride horses several miles to the school closest to their home. At this time there were several one-room schools in this area with one teacher that would teach all grades. The Eagleville community was fortunate to also have a private school during this time but these schools charged a tuition to attend, so most of the children in the area around Eagleville attended the one-room or very small country schools.
The BUNKER HILL SCHOOL was located near Eagleville in the Bunker Hill area. The original school building was located on property now owned by the Manier family. Professor Walter Cole was the teacher in 1898. Mr. Aub McClaran was the last teacher in the original schoolhouse. The new Bunker Hill School was built down the road from the old one next to the drive leading to the present home of Ray Frost, previously known as the Ralston home place. Mr. Bryson taught in the new school and in 1914, Miss Annie Wilson, daughter of John Wilson was the teacher. According to Mrs. Mary Pearl Taylor and Allen Hudson who attended the Bunker Hill School, the recess was the favorite time of the day. They boys would play ball or pitch horseshoes. The girls would make playhouses out of rocks. Each child carried their lunch for the day. The teacher would often go home and spend the night in the children’s home. Allen Hudson remembers a Miss Pomeroy staying at their home one night. Allen and his brothers went to school in the spring wagon that day because she was going home with them. One of the boys thought it would be fun to give her a fast ride. She was on the seat with Puckett Hudson, the driver. He got the horses going pretty fast and Miss Pomeroy got pretty upset them them. I’m sure their parents weren’t too happy about this incident but the boys had a good laugh. When Bunker Hill School was closed, most of the students in this area went to Rover and Eagleville Schools.

BUNKER HILL SCHOOL IN 1898

In 1914 Miss Annie Wilson was the teacher and W. J. Owens, Officer of Bunker Hill School.  That year, Miss Wilson gave all her students a “School Souvenir” booklet that included a “School Days” poem, list of students and a message from the teacher. This program (pictured at right) belonged to the late Eth “Teet” Rowland, one of her students in 1914. Students of Bunker Hill School in 1914: Allie Boyce, Jenine Mai Boyce, Maude Boyce, Eva Carlton, Willie Carlton, Roy Cook, Bruce Epperson, Carson Epperson, Carrie Epperson, Johnnie Epperson, Robert Epperson, Richard Epperson, Willie Epperson, Allie Mai Freeman, Eula Freeman, Edna Freeman, Richard Freeman, Avo Freeman, Jimmie L. Hogan, Clarence Holton, Willie D. Holton, Audrie Holton, Albert Hudson, John William “Cuttie” Hudson, Lena Mai Hudson, Jessie Hudson, Jessie Hartley, Blier Hartley, Lytle Kelton, Charlie Leverette, Bettie Sue Morgan, Minnie Belle Morgan, Joe Pope, Sallie Pope, Edgar Pugh, Giles Ray, Jessie Ray, Etta Rowland, Rosa Lee Rowland, Eth “Teet” Rowland, Oscar Rowland, Clarence Rowland, Willie B. Rowland, Bertha Mai Sanders, Frank Taylor, V. T. Taylor, Emmett Taylor, Dora Underwood, Julia Underwood, Nannie Lou Underwood.■

It has been almost 215 years since the first inhabitants moved into Eagleville. Eagleville was first named Manchester, but four years later, when the city obtained a post office, the name had to be changed since there was already a Manchester, Tennessee. While in the process of brainstorming for an idea for a name, an unusually large eagle was killed in the hills behind the city so the name Eagleville was came about. The name was officially adopted on August 16, 1836.

Until March 24, 1877, Eagleville was part of Williamson County. Williamson County refused to pay for a road to be built from the city of Franklin to Eagleville so Rutherford County offered to pay for it if Eagleville would become part of their county. That road was Hwy. 99 and ever since, Eagleville has been part of Rutherford County.

Families of Eagleville - The original inhabitants of Eagleville prior to 1850 were: Marshall, McClaran, McCord, Bennett, Manier, Clark, Williams, Russell, Hughes, Ogilvie, King, Nunn, Morgan, Williamson, Owen, Floyd, Phillips, Gentry, Crick, Kelly, Johnson, Bellefant, Bowman, Hemphill, Downing, McDowell, Puckett, Ralston, Mason, Chambers, Logan, and Henderson. Many of these families’ descendants still reside here today.

Important People - Chesley Williams was born on July 22, 1809. He established a General Store in Eagleville in about 1832. He and his descendants sold goods there until 1972. He owned a majority of the land in Eagleville, was the principal stockholder of the Eagleville-Unionville Turnpike Company, and was the second postmaster. He provided a great deal for the city of Eagleville.

George M. Savage was born on February 5, 1849. He married Fannie Williams, daughter of Chesley Williams. They moved to Eagleville in 1884 and George founded the Savage School in the Female and Male Academy where the Eagleville Baptist Church is now located. The class ranged from first grade, to seniors in college. Dr. Savage resigned in 1890 but the school remained until 1904.

The Gravedigger of Eagleville - Around 1894 or 1895, a physician by the name of Dr. C.B. Heimark came to Eagleville. He had a good practice for awhile until some people noticed that he was making midnight trips to Nashville in a wagon with a mysterious bundle, and returning before daylight the next morning. This was his usual trip almost every night for three or four years. The people of Eagleville didn’t think much of it at first until his patients who weren’t seriously ill began to die immediately after he had diagnosed them. Shortly after, there was the discovery of two empty graves. Mr. Charles P. Gillespie says that he remembers his grandchildren saying that it looked like there was a sinkhole in their grandfather’s grave. When they went to investigate, they found that the ground had been tampered with and when the grave was dug up, the coffin was empty. The only thing the grave robber had left was the clothes. The cases of only two more bodies were discovered but seeing that the mysterious midnight journeys to Nashville occurred over the course of three or four years, it was thought that there might be quite a few empty graves in Eagleville. Dr. Heimark was arrested and indicted by the grand jury in February 1898. He was fined only $150 and sentenced to six months in prison. All of the bodies were brought back to Eagleville by train and returned to their proper gravesites.

Business in Eagleville - In the late 1800’s and the early 1900’s, a lot of schools and tobacco plants sprang up in Eagleville and the closely surrounding areas. There was one near Mt. Vernon, one where the present Community Center is located, and one near Henry and Al’s Grocery. These were owned and operated by the Owen family. There was a saw mill, a flour mill, a tile mill, a few blacksmith shops, and seven grocery stores.

The first car dealership for Jackson brothers Chevrolet in Murfreesboro was started in Eagleville. James Jackson owned the tile mill in Eagleville and his sons owned the Jackson Chevrolet Dealership.

In October of 1933, Joe and Frank Crosslin opened a small store in Eagleville and named it Eagleville Produce Company. In 1940, the store was moved a few blocks up the street to the present location of Crosslin Supply Company. Frank made a building to house his feed, seed, grocery, and produce business. A restaurant was also operated from this location. Rolling stores called “peddling wagons” wheeled around the country roads selling coffee, fruit, and other grocery items in exchange for cash, chickens, and other locally produced items.

There was a tobacco manufacturing company on Cheatham Springs Rd. owned by A.P. Elmore. He moved to Eagleville and ran Rowena Flour Mill from 1892 until 1929 when it burned down.

In about 1943, Howard Marshall moved to Eagleville from Nashville and opened a grocery store next to the present location of the Eagleville Post Office. He ran the store until he died in 1984. On May 3, 1971, the store burnt down.

Fires in Eagleville - On July 11, 1952, about $100,000 worth of property was burnt. Herbert Williams poolroom and café, (where the fire started) burnt. The fire spread from there to W.T. Lowe’s hardware store and Puckett’s Grocery store. These buildings were located where the dairy bar and city hall are now located. At the time there was no fire engine in Eagleville which is why there was so much damage done. None of the businesses rebuilt.

There were also a handful of other fires. The Eagleville Baptist Church burnt somewhere between 1864-1865. The hotel across the street from the Savage school where some of the students lived burnt on March 28, 1890. Redmon’s Restaurant burnt on August 24, 1960. Marshall’s Grocery burnt on May 3, 1971.

A number of houses in the city of Eagleville are members of the National Register of Historic Places.

· The William B. Jordan House (also known as The Jordan-Floyd-Presswood Farm)
· The William Harrison McCord House
· The Absalom Scales House
· The Thomas Williamson House (also known as The Burns Farmhouse)

Time Travel: Eagleville School - The very first Eagleville School was built in 1903. There were many other schools in the area and they were soon closed down with their students being moved to Eagleville School. In 1923, the school burned for the first time. Classes were moved to a local church until the school was rebuilt in 1924. Another fire destroyed the school in the 1980’s and it was again rebuilt. It burned a third time in the summer of 1994 and was rebuilt into the Eagleville School that we know today.

The Fire of 1994 - News stations from all over the county rushed to get the coverage as the school burned on a Monday in the summer of ’94. An investigation concluded that the fire started at around 5 am. There were many speculations as to how the fire had started; however, the police concluded that the fire was undetermined. They investigated everything from a possible lightning strike to arson. The case is still undetermined to this day.

In the 1994-1995 school year, when the new school was being built, there were rumors that Eagleville would lose the new high school. The people of the community fought with the commissioners and on March 13, 1995 it was voted, 19-2 the Eagleville would have a new high school built.

On June 6, 1995, at 10 am, a handful of people met for the Annual Groundbreaking Ceremony at the site of the new Eagleville High School.

Today Eagleville School is flourishing with roughly 1000 students, faculty, and staff.

Where now sets the Veterans Community Care Center at the corner of Hwy 99 and Mt. Pleasant Road between Eagleville and Rockvale was at one time (1920’s) a thriving General Merchandise Store owned and operated by J.N. Puckett & Sons. The store took much pride in their Magnus Sewing Machine “The Machine of Merit”.