Fairview School - Tennessee

Fairview School - Tennessee

Fairview School is an important structure in American history. On August 21, 1871, a white farmer named Elliott Jones donated land to erect a school and church with very specific stipulations. The land was "for setting a house to be used as a church house and school house for the Black folks of the Methodist Church in the neighborhood."  

The deed would remain valid as long as the building was kept up and used for the intended purposes, and he specified, "The white folks of no sect or grade or order shall ever have control of the property."

And they did just that. The above pictured building was constructed and used for the outlined purposes for decades. Sources say the building fell into disuse in 1950, but I have yet to find any documents to confirm this. 

A new church was constructed next door with the same name with records beginning the year 1900. If this is accurate, perhaps the congregation and school population grew to a size that required a larger building. Or, perhaps the land was acquired in 1900 and the newer church was actually built later, around 1950, and the original building was left behind as repairs and updates became too costly. 

Link to the deed:

https://digital.mtsu.edu/digital/collection/p15838coll17/id/123/

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