Early School History

The first school in Dickenson County was established about 1855 at the mouth of Honey Branch about 1½ miles below Trammel. The first schools were subscription schools where the teacher was paid a fixed monthly rate (usually one or two dollars) for each pupil. These schools' terms normally lasted only three to four months of the year. After free schools were established, teachers were paid a salary by the county school system.

Early education was by means of numerous one-room schools dotted throughout the various communities. Most early schools were crude log affairs often built by the community members themselves. Logs were often notched and laid up without benefit of nails. Space between the logs was chinked up with clay or a mixture of moss and mud. Students sat on long backless benches (sometimes just a split log with peg legs) and usually didn't have desks. The teacher often sat on a stool. Black boards were made of poplar planks and painted from sap of trees. Students wrote their lessons on slates. Books were scarce and often an entire family shared the same school books. In many cases, the teacher was often only a few years older than his or her students were.

Many students boarded with families that lived near school buildings. Room and board was exchanged for household chores and farm work. These children often returned home to their families only once or twice a month. Curriculum was very basic and focused on the three R's: reading, 'riting and 'rithmetic. Good penmanship was highly prized. A favorite school activity was a spell down or arithmetic contest usually held each Friday afternoon. Pie suppers were often held to raise money for special school supplies.

Children were often required to gather wood for the school stove during breaks from study before they could play games. Games played by the boys included round town, straight town, bull pen, stink-base, hull gull, and ante over. Girls often made playhouses and played with their dolls.

Early Games

Round Town

A game played with four bases in a circle similar to baseball.

 

Straight Town

A game similar to round town except the bases were in a straight row.

 

Bull Pen

A game where players formed a circle with one side on the outside of the ring and the other side on the inside of the ring. Members of the outside ring would throw a ball at the inside ring. Anyone hit with the ball would go to the outside ring then the sides changed.

 

Stink Base

Two teams would chose up and face each other about 30 feet apart. Players on one side would try run around the other side without getting caught. If he was caught, he was put into the "stink" near the other side. If his side was able to retrieve him, he could go home again. If not, remained in the "stink" until all were captured.

 

Hull Gull

A player held chestnuts, beechnuts, or chinquapins in his hand and another player tried to guess how many was in the hand. If the guess was correct, the guesser got the items and if wrong he forfeited his items to the original player.

 

Ante Over

A ball game in which one team stood on one side of the school house and the other team stood on the other side. The first team called out loudly, "ante over" and the other team called out "ready." They then ran around the house and threw the ball in the crowd. Whoever was hit had to join the other team. Play continued this way until one team or the other was broken.

One of the first school buses in Dickenson County was operated between Skeetrock and Clintwood from 1928 to 1932. This bus was a homemade wooden shed mounted on a 1924 Chevrolet chassis. The bus had wooden seats along the sides and a small opening at the back for a door. This bus was owned by W. J. Artrip who was paid $2.49 a day for its use. The first meeting of the county-wide School Board was held on September 2, 1922. Henry Keel was elected Chairman of the Board and Jim Thornsbury served as the first Superintendent of Dickenson County Schools. Bear Ridge School, in service from 1930 to 1970, was the last log school building to be used in Dickenson County.

Source: School and Community History of Dickenson County, Virginia.

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