Annette Bradford | Special to the Sentinel
The July meeting of the Jackson County Historical Association will be held Sunday, July 28 at 2 p.m. at Paint Rock Valley High School in Princeton where they will dedicate a new historical marker recognizing the school years of Paint Rock Valley High School and hear about plans for the building from its administrator, Mike Sims.
This marker is primarily the work of one man: JCHA member Donald Langston, part of the PRVHC Class of 1956. He raised the money to have the marker created. He secured permission from the land owner to place the marker on the main road. When the marker was delivered, he organized the expedition to Scottsboro to retrieve the heavy marker, and helped with its setup.
The meeting will be inside the school in the historic gymnasium. Donald Langston and meeting speaker Mike Sims will serve as the guides, with Donald talking about the past and Mike about the future of this historic school.
Those of you who frequent Graham Farms will be familiar with Mike. He is an excellent speaker who has addressed JCHA meetings before. After the program and a tour of the school, the dedicate of the new historical marker will take place outside.
The meeting is open to both members and non-members, and refreshments will be served. Alumni of the school are encouraged to attend and hear the plans for their historic alma mater.
The text of the marker follows:
In 1931, at the height of the Great Depression, Paint Rock Valley citizens raised $2,625 to begin construction of a new school building. Residents gathered native field stones for the façade, which was 18 inches thick when completed. Local sawmills planed the lumber from trees donated by the community. Laborers with the Work Progress Administration (WPA) completed the construction. The school opened for the Fall 1935 term, though portions of the building were incomplete. The Alabama Power Company electrified the school in 1935 and dazzled the community with a lighted outdoor tree. The first senior class of seven graduated in 1938.
The school board closed Paint Rock Valley High School in 2018, citing a declining population, limited student opportunities, and the expense of needed repairs. At the time, there were 74 students enrolled in grades K through 12, including five seniors in the final graduating class. The school counts among its most famous alumni Robert Thrower, who was the “most valuable player” of the 1949 state basketball tournament, and Claude “Curly” Putman, the country music singer/songwriter who penned “The Green, Green Grass of Home.” The enduring craftsmanship of the school is testament to the determination of valley citizens to provide their children with a quality, local high-school education.
Until 2018, Paint Rock Valley School was a K-12 facility in Princeton. In a 3-2 vote, the Jackson County Board of Education voted to close the school. The decision was based on low attendance (only 73 students in all 13 grades) and the cost of performing needed cafeteria renovations.
School board member Dr. Angela Guess voiced the concerns of the board.
“We have so few teachers trying to work so hard to reach every standard for every subject across 13 grade levels,” she said. “It is daunting. Not only is it daunting for our regular academic program, those students don’t have the same opportunities that kids have in other places whether it is sports or electives in so many different ways. They deserve those opportunities.”
But losing the school was a blow to the community. The school sat empty for several years and suffered from vandalism and disuse. In 2023, Paint Rock Valley School was repurposed as a communiversity facility for Alabama A&M University (AAMU), the Alabama Cooperative Extension System (ACES), and the residents of north Alabama.
In June 2023, the school board voted to transfer ownership, including future property renovations, to AAMU for educational and community activities. This transfer of resources represents one of the largest non-monetary gifts in AAMU history.
“The Jackson County Board of Education is excited about the possibilities this joint venture will bring to our county,” said Chad Gorham, Jackson County Board of Education president said in 2023. “This partnership allows students from all over Jackson County and beyond to explore, experience, and learn in one of the most beautiful areas in the state. It will also breathe new life into the Paint Rock Valley community.