Bridges Mill School Remembered

BY LINDA VOLENTINE AND SUSAN T. HERRING, Editor, The Guardian-Journal
Published 12/01/05

 

Students At Bridges Mill School About 1916 were (front, l.-r.) Earnest Ratcliff, Bernice Beavers, Clawson James, Fannie Bridges, Milton Methvin, Gussie Beard, Ardis Powell, Polly Holley, Lucille Methvin, Vada Methvin, (2nd row) Olin James, Myra Beavers, Ezra Ratcliff, James Holley, Obie Rhee Bridges, Mary James, Roy Bridges, Johnnye Jordan, Albert Bridges, Suzie Luker, (3rd row) Teacher Evelyn Simmons, Annie Mae Bridges, Bessie Bailey, Aubyn James, Odessa Jordan, Convie Bailey, Essie James, Emmitt Bridges, Vera James, Frank Luker, Lois Powell, (4th row) Lila Ratcliff, Dorothy Bridges, Velma Beavers, Ollie James, Maude Methvin, Minnie Bridges, Edna James, Claudia James, Bessie Methvin, Teacher Miss Demoss, (5th row) Roy Powell, Buck Johnson, Chester Poweell, Jay Bailey, (unknown), Claude Luker, Elmer "Boy" Jordan, Irene Powell, Ruby James, Irma Powell, and Mary "Sweetie" James. (Anyone who can identify unknown child, call 927-3541.)

 

This Beautiful Old Home located south of Athens was once the Bridges Mill (or Union) School, attended by Dorothy and Johnnye Bridges. Dorothy and husband, Henry Shaffer, purchased the school after it closed and converted it into a home. Their four children_Yvonne, Travis, Donia, and Dottie_were born there. The youngest, Dottie Cathey, and her husband still own the house.

 

            Many residents in Claiborne Parish may remember walking to school with lunch pails filled with a biscuit or sweet roll, fried sausage, a sweet potato, and maybe a fried egg. Joseph Sanders and Johnnye Bridges sure do. They also remember when there were no buses and they had to walk to school. Schools had no running water then. Water was drawn from a well. Each student drank from their own folding collapsible cup. Wood heaters kept children warm in winter and there was no air conditioning in warm months. Bathrooms were located outside. If you were fortunate, there would be one for the boys and one for girls. At least that was the way it was at Bridges Mill School, located south of Athens. Both Sanders and Bridges attended school there, but they remember it being called Union School.

            As early as 1727, schools were in Louisiana, in New Orleans. While most of those schools quickly failed, the efforts put forth by parents showed the importance they placed on educating their children. One school, the Ursuline Academy was taught by Catholic nuns. It was successful and open to girls of all races. Children who did not attend academies were educated either by their parents, by private tutors, or were sent back to France for their education. Many children, however, received no education at all.

            In Claiborne Parish, education had its beginning in 1822 when John Murrell, the first permanent settler in the parish, hired  James Ashburner Conley to teach for $15 per month. The Murrell home  served as the first school. About 1850, a small log schoolhouse was built on Lyon's Hill in Homer. Jane C. Smith, great aunt of Miss Belle Davidson, was the teacher.

            Over the next century, public and private schools were established throughout Claiborne Parish. There were as many as 70 schools when F. C. Haley was named Superintendent of Schools in 1945. Over the past several weeks, the Ford Museum has been actively seeking information and pictures on these early schools, some which to be featured in The Guardian-Journal. The known schools are Sexton, Relief, Ward's Chapel, New Home, Good Springs, Gordon, Colquitt, Haynesville, St. James, Bethel, Spring Grove, Fellowship, Pleasant Grove, Cherokee, St. Paul, Mt. Sinai, Mt. Calm, Oak Grove, Pine Hill, Mt. Obie, Mt. Olive, Shady Grove, Wafer Chapel, Mt. Tabor, Blackburn, Rising Star, Friendship, Beach Hill, White Oak Grove, Chatham, Forest Grove, Mt. Pisgah, St. Rest, Buck Bottom, Salem, Gum Grove, Homer, Liberty Hill, Mt. Pleasant, Providence, Rocky Mountain, Oil Field, Rogers, Bamaville, Rogers Mill, St. Mark, Moreland, Bennett Grove, St. John, Point Pleasant, Cedar Grove, Kimble, Mt. Superior, Richland, Walthall, Athens, St. Luke, Good Hope, Pleasant Valley, Calhoun, Frazier, Hurricane, Antioch, Haynesville, Harris, Athens, Cross Roads, Hurricane, Lisbon, and Summerfield.

            Bridges Mill School, which closed before Haley every took office, was located several miles south of Athens, about one city block west of the sawmill located at the intersection of Bridges Road and Cook Road. The sawmill was owned and operated by Neri A. Bridges, Johnnye's grandfather, who also served as principal of the school. Neri's daughter, Annie Mae, taught grades 1-4. When the school caught fire in 1930, it was Neri who called for help to put it out. To this day, there is still evidence of that fire in the attic.

Johnnye remembers studying spelling, arithmetic, reading and writing. She said, "I don't think I learned anything. When I got to Athens, I did not know one thing about how to do that arithmetic." She did admit going to rally in writing at Homer and winning second place.

            Anyone with information or pictures on any of these early schools in Claiborne Parish is asked to please call Linda Volentine at the Ford Museum at 927-9190. Look for future articles in the upcoming months in The Guardian-Journal on other early Claiborne Parish schools.