Download
[Page]
[Document]mcc-ns1-324
Farming For A Better Future, page 298
(Above) 1949 Aerial Photograph Showing the New Hope Church, School, and Cemetery (Right) Students and Teachers of the New Hope School
Class for the New Hope School was first held in the church, possibly as early as the late 1800s. In 1923, the community raised money to buy the two acres of land required for a Rosenwald Fund. Unfortunately, by the time it applied, the community was no longer eligible for the grant. No funds were provided by the state or county, either, and finally, in 1936, the TVA helped build the schoolhouse. The school opened in 1937 with Ms. Katherine Beck as the principal.
A decade later, the school trustees were Mrs. Horace Rodgers, Mrs. Love and Mrs. Sandier. Other teachers included Mrs. Henrietta Gowdy, Mrs. Ruth Blackwell, Mrs. Alice E. White, and Mrs. Almetia Davis.
The church is still located at the corner of Wall Street and New Hope Road. The most current topographic map depicts a school in this location but there has not been a building beside the church since at least 1999.
Historically referred to by the same name as the church, New Hope Cemetery, is now called Historic New Hope Community Cemetery. It is situated about a half mile east of the church at a bend in Wall Street, enclosed by a wrought iron fence and surrounded by flat land and agricultural fields. The cemetery has about 50 marked and several unmarked graves. The earliest interment is Phillip Jones (1838-1906). Other surnames common at this cemetery include Love and Miller.
32 ■
Oak Grove Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, Cemetery, and Oak Grove School*
Located about eight miles southwest of Athens and northwest of Beulahland, Oak Grove Christian Methodist Episcopal Church is along Cowford Road in the community of Lawson. The church was organized prior to 1897 when the Oak Grove School was known to hold classes there. - (4826)