The Vanishing Schools of Franklin County

An in-depth history that assesses the price of progress and the legacy of lost rural American communities

Nestled among the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains in southwestern Virginia, Franklin County is the undisputed “Moonshine Capital of the World.” But Franklin County was not as lawless as its reputation would suggest. In addition to making moonshine, the citizens of Franklin County also made a monumental effort to educate their children. In the early twentieth century, Franklin County had more schools than any other locality in the state, per capita. Today, they have all but vanished.

Most of these schools were simple one-room buildings located in abandoned fields. Their foundations were built with local stones, and their walls were built with local timber. Most did not have electricity, running water, or indoor bathrooms. These schools were once vital to life in Franklin County. In this book, a father and son with deep roots in the community set out to recover the history of these long-forgotten schools. They have combed through the archives and trekked through the woods in their efforts to identify, map, and photograph every single school in the historical record. Along the way, they have learned valuable lessons that extend well beyond the Appalachian foothills and into the present day.