Newtown appreciates the old
Historic Newtown School is listed on the National Register of Historic Placesby Christine Braden
July 12, 2007 Next ArticleA piece of Newtown history is now a little more secure for future generations to enjoy because of a designation to the National Register of Historic Places.
The timeworn brick building located near the intersection of Old Alabama and Haynes Bridge roads may not look like much, but it is the last known historic public facility to stand in Newtown – an area that pre-dates the Civil War.
“There wasn’t much motivation to save the school initially,” said Lynn Pennington, president of the Newtown Park Community Foundation. “But Bob Fulton [a former Fulton County Commissioner] saw the wisdom in the effort to save it.”
Because of its educational history and architectural significance, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources Historic Preservation Division also believed the school was worth saving, which eventually led to the federal designation.
“It keeps people from deciding they want to knock it down, now or in the future, because of its use as a school and its historical significance in a rural area,” said Pennington.
The school itself was first opened in 1929 following a push by the state for one-room schoolhouses to combine facilities. A $500 state incentive per county to consolidate the schools was accepted by then Milton County and four one-room schools in the region were combined into the four-room Newtown Elementary School that still stands today.
The school – officially closed in 1980 – consolidated two grades per classroom, which were fashioned around a small open auditorium in the middle of the building in the shape of an “H.” Though the school was equipped with electricity, it was heated by a pot-bellied stove. Students used outdoor toilet facilities and drew water from a nearby well. An addition was added to the front of the original school via a walkway in 1953 (following Milton County’s merger with Fulton County,) however the expansion was demolished in 2002 to make way for road improvements to Old Alabama.
Also in 1953, the Newtown Community House was built on the property as part of a Fulton County initiative to build community houses throughout the county. The small rectangular one-story building was used as a courthouse for the Justice of the Peace, dances, community dinners, 4-H and other civic uses. Though the community house still exists, its future is in limbo until future improvements to Old Alabama are made known.
Because of the current historic designation, volunteers at the Newtown Park Community Foundation look forward to the possible uses of the building, which will cost $3 million to renovate. Another building, estimated to cost $2 million, will also need to be added to the site since there are currently no bathroom facilities. The foundation has high hopes for the site even though there are no current funds available for renovation in the Johns Creek budget since it is a new city.
“We had intentions to create a Newtown Community Center [under Fulton County] before everything changed [by becoming a recognized city],” Pennington said. “It would have been the only intergenerational use building in the county.
We still hope to do something there eventually,” she said. “We want there to be something for everyone there, from babies to seniors.”
Currently, the school has been boarded up and locked down to detour vandals and prevent any future damage from occurring.
“We’re just kind of waiting for the funding to come through,” said Pennington. “We do see it as being a great future asset, not only historically, but also for the community. We see it as a place where people can gather, learn and play.”
July 12, 2007 Johns Creek Herald