American Schools: Garrison School (Tennesseee)


Figure 1.- We see the Garrison School in 1910 with about 45 children. We are not sure, but we see what looks to be a youthful male teacher. He could be an older student. One teacher would have his hands full with this lot. Notice how thet have dressed up for school. Many of the older boys wear suits, some with ties. A school like this would have only offered classes through the 8th grade. Some of the older boys look to be about 15 years old. The younger boys wear blouses and knee pants and are mostly barefoot. Only one very young boy wears overalls. About this time they became very common in these rural schools. Notice how common suspenders were with the boys wearing shirts. Boys with blouses probably had underwaists to hold up their pants. Belts did not become common until after World war I. White dresses seem very popular with the girls. We only see one girl with a large hairbow. Notice hiw one girl has brought her baby sister. That might have been part of a bargain with her mother to allow her to go to school.

The Garrison School is a rural school located in Williamson County, Tennessee. This is a rural county located in the central part of the state. The population were mostly farmers raising corn, wheat, cotton, and livestock. Tennessee was a slave state which joined the Confederacy. Three Civil war battles were fouhht in the county. The only important manufacturer was the Dortch Stove works in Franklin, the county seat. It became better known as the Magic Chef factory, producing electric and gas ranges. The county has changed in recent years, especuially had nearby Nashville has grown into a major urban center. The senic Natchez Trace Parkway passess through the county. The Garrison School was a fairly standard rural frame school. It looks to be more than a one room. We see about 30-40 children attending the school. We see photographs from different years

Williamson County

The Garrison School is a rural school located in Williamson County, Tennessee. This is a rural county located in the central part of the state. The population were mostly farmers raising corn, wheat, cotton, and livestock. Tennessee was a slave state which joined the Confederacy. Three Civil war battles were fouhht in the county. The only important manufacturer was the Dortch Stove works in Franklin, the county seat. It became better known as the Magic Chef factory, producing electric and gas ranges. The county has changed in recent years, especuially had nearby Nashville has grown into a major urban center. The senic Natchez Trace Parkway passess through the county.

The School

The Garrison School was a fairly standard rural frame school. It is a fram construction building with several windows. It looks to be more than a one room. We suspect that it must have been divided into at least two classrooms inside. We see about 30-45 children attending the school. It would be difficult to teach so many children in one classroom. Elementary schools in America were mostly grades 1-6, although this varied somewhat. These rural schools because school bus service was not commonly available, often had classes through grade 8.

Chronology

We see photographs from different years

1910

Here we see the Garrison School in 1910 with about 45 children (figure 1). We are not sure, but we see what looks to be a youthful male teacher. He could be an older student. One teacher would have his hands full with this lot. Notice how thet have dressed up for school. Many of the older boys wear suits, some with ties. A school like this would have only offered classes throiugh the 8th grade. Some of the older boys look to be about 15 years old. The younger boys wear blouses and knee pants and are mostly barefoot. Only one very young boy wears overalls. About this time they became very common in these rural schools. Notice how common suspenders were with the boys wearing shirts. Boys with blouses probably had underwaists to hold up their pants. Belts did not become common until after World war I. White dresses seem very popular with the girls. We only see one girl with a large hairbow. Notice hiw one girl has brought her baby sister. That might have been part of a bargain with her mother to allow her to go to school.

1938

Here we see the school in 1938. There are not as many children, about 25 pupils. This time there is a lady teacher. The older boys look to be about 16 years old. Some boys took a little longer to get through the 8th grade because they commonly had more duties to perform on the farm. The boys no longer dress up for school. The youngr boys wear short pants. One boy has a fashionable button-on short pants outfit. Three boys wear overalls, still very common in rural America. Note the modrn looking overalls the younger boy to the right wears. We no longer see suspenders. The girls all wear dresses. One older girl wears a sailor dress. A younger girl has an unusual front buttoning dress. Most of the younger children are barefoot.











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Created: 10:42 PM 8/29/2011
Last updated: 10:42 PM 8/29/2011