Former School Building in Gray GA Closed in 1990

Jones County High School - Gray High School, Gray Georgia

Date added: October 17, 2024

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Georgia
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The Jones County High School is a historic community building in the small town of Gray, Jones County. It was designed by Ellamae Ellis League (1899-1991), a prominent and influential woman architect in Georgia. The Jones County High School was constructed to be a consolidated high school for white students in Jones County.

The building is an excellent example of the Colonial Revival style. The character-defining features include its three-part plan, hipped roof with arched-top dormers, front projecting pavilion with a wide cornice, quoins, and wooden fanlight design located above the main entrance. The Colonial Revival style was very popular in Georgia for a long period, from the 1890s through the 1940s and beyond. The architectural style is found on Georgia's various types of domestic, commercial, and community landmark buildings. Other significant character-defining features include large window openings to provide ample natural light, blackboards, plaster walls, wood floors, plaster ceilings with crown trim, panel doors, blackboards, auditorium wall decorative detailing, and auditorium seats and stage.

The school was designed by Ellamae Ellis League. Ms. League was born in Macon, Bibb County in 1899 and was exposed to the field of architecture at an early age. Her father was Curran Ellis (1872-1934) and her uncle was Charles Edward Choate (1865-1929), both men were successful Atlanta architects. She graduated from Lanier High School in Macon and went on to attend Wesleyan College in 1917. She married George Forrest League the same year but divorced in 1922. During the marriage, the couple had two children. After her divorce, her uncle, Charles Edward Choate, urged her to enter the field of architecture to provide a good life for her two children. She began her architectural career in 1922 as an apprentice for the architectural firm Dunwody and Oliphant of Macon. While working at Dunwody and Oliphant, League enrolled in an architectural correspondence course from the New York Beaux Arts Institute of Design. In 1928, League placed her two children into the care of her parents and moved to France to attend the Ecole des Beaux Arts at Fountainbleau, France. She was one of only three women attending the school. After several months of study in France, she returned to Macon and joined the architectural firm of Claude Shelverton. To insure her career as an architect, League became a registered architect in 1929. League formed her own architectural firm in Macon during the early 1930s. One of her first clients proved to be one of her most important. Mr. James H. Porter, president of the Bibb Company in Macon, was a philanthropist and commissioned League for the construction of several buildings he financed for the city of Macon.

One of League's most important Depression-era commissions came from the Public Works Administration. League's firm was commissioned to supervise the reconstruction of the 1806 Fort Hawkins Blockhouse, a Macon landmark. It was during this period that League's firm was commissioned for other Public Works Administration projects, including the Jones County High School.

Following the end of World War II, League's firm grew due to the post-war construction boom. League changed the name of her firm to League, Warren, and Riley, to include her associates Delmer Warren and Oliver Riley. The firm was commissioned for several projects throughout the Macon area. League closed her firm in 1975, after 41 years of service.

League helped organize the various American Institute of Architects (AIA) chapters in Georgia into one Georgia chapter and served as the first president of the Georgia Council AIA in 1964. League received many honors during her career, her greatest honor came in 1968 when she was invested as a Fellow of the AIA, a first for a women architect. In Susan Hunter Smith's study on women architects in Georgia, she identifies League as the most prominent woman architect in Georgia and as an example for other women architects.

The Jones County High School was part of the consolidation movement in Georgia during the early to mid-20^th century. Prior to the school consolidation movement, Georgia had a system of independent local schools. Both African-American and white schools relied on the services of philanthropic foundations, such as the Julius Rosenwald Foundation (African-American schools) and the Peabody Fund (white schools), private funding, and religious organizations. Some power was given to local independent school systems to levy taxes to support education but a system of inequality developed; rural school systems could not generate the same revenue as larger urban areas.

The beginning of the 20^th century brought some significant changes to Georgia's educational system. In 1911, Georgia's school districts were made county-wide and given the authority to consolidate schools and provide transportation. In 1919, the Georgia Constitution was amended to allow county school boards to issue school bonds for the construction of schools. In that same years, a bill was passed that encouraged school consolidation by financially compensating county school boards that consolidated their county schools. Through these school consolidation programs, Georgia experienced a significant increase in the number of school buildings and students attending those schools. It was during this period that the Jones County High School was constructed as Jones County's first consolidated school for white students.

The school was constructed in 1936 with funds from the Jones County Board of Education, Jones County Commissioners, and the Federal Emergency Administrator of Public Works. The Jones County High School was the largest federally funded public works project in Gray. The Jones County High School is an excellent example of the kind of local public works project found in many towns across Georgia. The Public Works Administration provided funds and construction workers for the construction of schools throughout Georgia. Many of these New Deal-era buildings, including the Jones County High School, are significant community landmark buildings since they represent growth during a time of economic struggle.

On November 11^th, 1935, the Jones County Board of Education announced in the Jones County News that sealed bids would be taken until December 13^th for the construction of a new high school in Gray, Georgia. The building was to be located in front of the old high school building in the center of the town. The project was to be funded locally and federally with the Board of Education and the County Commissioners paying 55% of the cost and the Federal Emergency Administrator of Public Works paying 45%.

Previously, Mrs. Ellamae Ellis League of Macon had been engaged to draw architectural plans for the building. Mrs. League, a pioneer woman architect of the era, was the niece of the distinguished Atlanta architect, Charles Edward Choate. At his urging, she began her career as an apprentice in the Macon firm of Dunwody and Oliphant in 1922. While serving this six-month apprenticeship, she took a correspondence course from the New York Beaux Arts School of Design. Later she studied at the Ecole dex Beaux Arts at Fountainbleau, France and traveled extensively in Europe. In 1929, she became a registered architect. One of the few women of the 1930s to head their own architectural firms, she very early tackled commercial and institutional assignments, such as schools, hospitals and churches. She also supervised the reconstruction of Ft. Hawkins, an outpost built in 1806, a Macon landmark. On Friday, December 13^th, 1935, the contract to build the school was awarded to Stillwell Construction Company of Macon, with work to begin not later than ten days after approval by the Acting State Director of Public Works Administration and to be completed within approximately six months thereafter.

The first event to be held in the new building was the presentation of three one-act plays by the Jones County High School English Department on April 2^nd, 1936. On June 1^st, 1936, graduation exercises were held there. For the next thirty-five years, Jones County High School was the only white high school in the county. As the county's population grew, so did high school enrollment:

1939-1940 - 173
1949-1950 - 142
1959-1960 - 359
1969-1970 - 610

With integration in the Fall of 1970. Jones County High School became the only high school in the county and enrollment almost doubled to 1148. During those early years of integration, Jones County High School earned a reputation of having a minimum of the racial tension that most of the schools in surrounding counties experienced. In 1990, the last year of the building's use, the enrollment was 926.

With the opening of a new high school in September 1990, the original building was abandoned and plans were made to raze it. The Jones County Chamber of Commerce initiated a plan to save the original building, restore it, and use it for offices for the Chamber of Commerce and the Clean Community Commission and as a community center.

Building Description

Jones County High School is located within a larger school complex on the west side of Gray, Jones County. The historic school is oriented towards US Highway 129/Georgia State Route 11/Clinton Street, a main thoroughfare through Gray, and the other modern school-related buildings are located behind (south) of the historic school. The larger area surrounding the historic school encompasses commercial and residential development.

The Jones County High School was built in 1936 with funds from the Public Works Administration and designed by Ellamae Ellis League (1899-1991). The immediate setting of the school consists of a semi-circular driveway and a row of trees and foundation plants located between the building and US Highway 129/Georgia State Route 11/Clinton Street. The other school-related buildings located behind (south) vary in scale from much smaller to slightly larger than the historic school. The buildings include the Jones County Junior High School with lunchroom, Business Building, Jones County Gymnasium, and Vocational Building. A c.1935 library was located on the campus but demolished several years ago.

The overall form of the building consists of a one-story H-plan center block with a center rear ell, the auditorium. The building features wood-framed construction with a brick stretcher bond veneer. The front horizontal section of the building consists of a three-part plan which includes a central block and adjacent wings. The roof is hipped with three small arched-top dormers located above the pavilion. Many of the original windows have been replaced; however, the replacement multi-paned sashes of the windows match the originals.

The central block features a slightly front-projecting symmetrical pavilion with a flat roof and parapet, wide cornice, quoins, and 16-over-16 double-hung windows. The recessed main doorway features an arched entrance with decorative woodwork, paneled double doors, and 9-over-9 double-hung windows.

Extending out from the center block and pavilion to the wings, the building features three 15-over-15 double-hung windows on each wing and recessed brick squares on the projecting ends. The east elevations of the building consist of three bays of paired 12-over-12 double-hung windows. The window pattern of the east elevation is continued on the west elevation. In 1968, the west elevation was continued with a rear ell addition. A small rear addition, which was added to the southwestern side of the building in 1968, continues the wood-frame construction with brick stretcher bond veneer. The auditorium, the center rear ell, features wood-frame construction with brick stretcher bond veneer, 20-over-20 and 9-over-9 double-hung widows, and paired wooden doors.

The main entrance opens into a central hallway consisting of the lobby. Two rooms are located on either side of the lobby, one room historically functioned as the principal's office. The lobby opens into a cross hallway and entrance to the auditorium. The cross hallway extends to the side wings which have long hallways with classrooms located on either side. The auditorium is a large open space with a stage located at the far southern end. The auditorium seats approximately 600 people and retains many of its original features: vaulted ceiling, two rows of seats, central aisle, floor, and stage. The classrooms feature many of their original features such as large window openings to provide ample natural light, blackboards, plaster ceilings and walls, molding, wood floors, and doors.

The school was deeded to the Jones County/Gray Chamber of Commerce in 1992. The other remaining buildings remain under the ownership of the Jones County Board of Education. An adaptive use plan is proposed for the building to function as the office of the Jones County/Gray Chamber of Commerce and as a community meeting space.