Abandoned school in Georgia

Millen High School, Millen Georgia

Date added: July 14, 2023 Categories: Georgia School

1922 Building, south facade and auditorium looking northwest (2001)

Millen High School was constructed between 1922 and 1962 to serve the white children of the Millen community. The 1922 building was constructed to enhance the existing 1898 school (no longer extant) by adding classroom space and an auditorium. Built in the Classical Revival style the character-defining features of the building include the symmetrical facade, projecting pavilions, arched windows, and arched entry. The 1943 building was constructed to replace the 1898 school building. Built in an L-shape, the character-defining features of the Classical Revival-style building are the full-height entry portico, symmetrical facade, projecting pavilions, and cupola. The 1962 cafeteria building was constructed to further enhance the campus by providing a modern facility to replace the cafeteria housed in the basement of the 1943 building.

Millen High School, a three-building campus, was constructed between 1922 and 1962 and served different grade levels for the white community of Millen until 1993. The High School and Auditorium building, completed in 1922, was constructed to supplement a two-story brick school built in 1898 (no longer extant) that stood where the playground and parking lot are today. In 1921 $36,000.00 worth of bonds was sold for the construction of the building. It served as the white high school for Jenkins County until 1952 when a new high school was constructed on another site. This property then became a part of Millen Elementary School from 1952 until the elementary school was moved to another location. The Jenkins County Primary School continued to use the building until it was relocated in 1993. The auditorium, located in the building, was a center of community events. It was closed to public use in 1996.

In the years between 1922 and 1962 two additional buildings were added to the property. The Old Elementary School building was begun in 1941 by a WPA crew and was completed in 1943 at a cost of approximately $40,000.00. It was constructed to provide needed space for the Millen Grammar School, which was occupying the 1898 building. The 1943 building served as the Millen Grammar School until 1952 when the high school, which was occupying the 1922 building on the same property, moved to a new location. By 1952 all the white grammar schools in the county were consolidated into the one grammar school in Millen. With the exit of the high school from the two-story building, the grammar school expanded into this building also and became Millen Elementary School. In 1970 when Jenkins County Schools were integrated, the elementary school moved to another school complex that was originally an African-American school, and the 1922 and 1943 buildings became the Jenkins County Primary School. This new facility was known as Millen Grammar School. In 1993 the primary grades were moved to another location. After remaining empty for two years, the Jenkins County Head Start used the building from 1995 until June, 2001. The building is no longer used because fire marshal requirements have not been met.

A modern lunchroom was added between the two buildings in 1962 for the students of Jenkins County Elementary School. The former lunchroom for these students had been in the basement of an adjacent building completed in 1943. The cost of the building was $64,032.96. The State School Building Authority contributed $58,649.35.

When the elementary school was moved in 1970, the lunchroom continued to be used by the primary students until they moved in 1993. The Jenkins County Head Start Program used the lunchroom from 1995 until June, 2001 when the adjacent buildings were closed to use.

Building Description

Millen High School is located on a large corner lot in a residential area of Millen, the county seat of Jenkins County. Three buildings, constructed at different times, make up the school campus.

The earliest building was constructed in 1922 to supplement a two-story brick school built in 1898 (no longer extant). Designed by the firm of Scroggs & Ewing of Augusta, and constructed by Arnold Construction Company of Elberton, Georgia, the two-story, T-shaped building is wood-framed with a brick veneer and standing seam metal-hipped roof. The building features Classical Revival details such as a symmetrical facade, tall, narrow arched windows, and projecting pavilions at each end. The entry is recessed and features an arched entry with double doors and a half-round transom. The interior includes a 500-seat auditorium and eight classrooms. The foyer and auditorium form the center section of the building. A hall runs the length of the building ending at a classroom at each end. There is a stairwell at each end of the hall leading to the second floor. The center of the second floor is the balcony of the auditorium. It is flanked by two classrooms on each side, including two added in 1941 (originally the wings flanking the main section were only one story high). The walls are plaster. Doors are paneled and feature transoms. The floors and window trim are wood.

The 1943 building was begun in 1941 by a Works Progress Administration crew and was completed in 1943. Designed by Brown & Eve of Augusta, it was constructed as an elementary school to replace the 1898 building. The one-story, L-shaped building is wood-framed with a brick veneer and standing seam metal roof. Like the earlier building, the 1943 building features Classical Revival details such as symmetrical facade, full-height pedimented entry portico, projecting pavilions at each end, and cupola. The entry is recessed and features double entry doors and a multi-light transom. The front doors open into a large foyer. Tall plaster arches separate the foyer from the double-loaded hallway that runs the length of the building. A stairway at the east end of the hall leads to the basement that was used as a lunchroom. At each end of the hallway, double doors open to the exterior. The ell section of the building is on the east side and contains five classrooms.

The walls are plaster with wainscoting. Doors contain nine lights in the upper half and are paneled on the bottom. Windows are large, square, multi-light, set individually or in banks. The floors are wood and the window trim is metal.

The third building was constructed as a lunchroom in 1962. Designed by William Hughes and Robert McCreary of Augusta and constructed by Ergle-Reid Builders of Augusta, it is a rectangular building constructed of concrete and brick with ribbon windows and a flat roof. It is located between the two earlier buildings and accessed by covered walkways. The building is divided into a cafeteria area and a kitchen and storage area. The cafeteria is a large open space lined with windows. All interior walls are concrete block and the floor is tile.

Landscaping on the property includes foundation plantings, playgrounds, and parking areas.