Little White Schoolhouse

Miss Arnold's Schoolhouse, Allendale, SC 

When I go to a new area I do a google image search to see what sights I want to find and I had my eye out for this sweet little one room school house in Allendale, SC. It wasn't hard to find since it has been relocated to the backyard of the Salkahatchie Arts Council and they were kind enough to leave the back gate open for me. This information was from the Allendale Attractions page:

This tiny structure was built in 1875 for Miss Augusta Salena Arnold. At the outbreak of the Civil War, Miss Arnold was only about 14, and the war made it impossible for her to pursue her education in a formal way. So she educated herself by reading and emerged with a well-rounded education that was well suited for teaching the young pupils of her time. It was said the she could almost recite from memory any page from her well-worn encyclopedia. Her passion for knowledge and for teaching children inspired her to continue teaching for almost fifty years in the tiny school house, even after public schools had been established in Allendale. Miss Augusta Salena Arnold died in 1929 and is buried in Allendale's Swallow Savannah Cemetery in the Searson family lot. She is remembered with great fondness by the people of Allendale. Her school house was restored in recent years and moved to the property of the Salkahatchie Arts Council, where it can be appreciated by visitors. 

In other news, my follow up research led me to discover that one of Allendale's claims to fame is birdwatching! Who knew? Not me. Apparently it is the place to find Swallow-tailed and Missippi Kites:

Every summer from mid-July to mid August, the kite show begins over the cow pastures of Allendale, South Carolina. Hundreds of Swallow-tailed and Mississippi Kites converge on this area of our state to feed on a horde of dragonflies and other flying insects. It is a spectacle to behold -- a birder's delight -- to watch these flocks feed over the fields." (Puff Mud Perspectives)