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Historic Schools of Georgetown County
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Georgetown County once had many school which served isolated communities. By 1940, three clusters had emerged Georgetown, Andrews, and Pleasant Hill. Many smaller schools continue to exist today that continue to serve smaller communities, albeit those are elementary schools. The Waccamaw school cluster did not emerge until 1990. Winyah School The Winyah School was established on Highmarket Street in Georgetown in 1879. It served as an all-purpose school for many years. In the early 1900s, a high school building was built beside it. In 1984, the high school building burned down. Shortly afterwards, the Winyah Grammar School was closed and Georgetown High School, Georgetown Middle School, and several smaller elementary schools were built. The original Winyah School building went unused for several years until the Winyah Auditorium Corporation Board began work to restore the historic building and make it the cultural centers of Georgetown. Most of the restoration work is now complete. In 1988, the original building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. Howard High School, J.B. Beck Middle School, and West End Schools These schools were the African American schools in Georgetown. Howard is still used as an adult education center. Beck is currently being used as the Georgetown County School District headquarters. Many of the West End buildings were torn down. An elementary building is currently the police headquarters for Georgetown. Rosemary School Rosemary was the African American school in Andrews. The original building was built in the 1920s on the site of what is today the National Guard Armory. In the 1950s, a new campus was built on the end of Jones Ave. This was about the same time the new Andrews High School building was built. In 1970, when integration came to Andrews, Rosemary became the middle school. In 2001, the Rosemary Middle School was moved along with Andrews High School to a new campus on County Line Road. Pleasant Hill Schools and Chopee Schools The Pleasant Hill Schools existed from the early 1900s until 2000. In 1938, the Pleasant Hill School was built, although smaller schools had existed in the area before that. Over the years, the Chopee schools also grew. These were the African American counterparts to the Pleasant Hill Schools. In the 1970s a new Pleasant Hill High School was built, leaving the old Pleasant Hill School to become the middle school. In the late 1990s, the Justice Department ruled that the Pleasant Hill Schools and the Chopee Schools must combine as they were determined to be still segregated. In 2000, Carvers Bay High School opened their doors. The old Pleasant Hill High School was refurbished to become Pleasant Hill Elementary School and the 1938 Pleasant Hill School was abandoned. Murrels Inlet and Waverly Mills Schools The precursors to the Waccamaw schools were the Murrells Inlet schools and the Waverly Mills Schools. The Murrells Inlet school continues to be used today as the magistrates office and a community center. The Waverly Mills Schools were destroyed at some point.
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