Abandoned High School in Tennessee

Peabody High School, Trenton Tennessee

Date added: July 03, 2023 Categories: Tennessee School

The Peabody High School was designed by Rueben A. Heavner, a regionally important architect who specialized in school buildings and residences beginning in the early twentieth century. Built in 1917, the structure served as the primary high school for the young people of Trenton for over sixty years.

In 1876 Professor Gentry R. McGee began laying the foundations for the establishment of public education in Gibson County, Tennessee. After securing $1,000.00 from the Peabody Education Fund, an endowment established by George Peabody to aid education in the South, a public school building was constructed in Trenton.

By early 1917, the original Peabody School building was inadequate to serve the growing number of students in Trenton and the surrounding area. A five-member commission composed of locally prominent citizens was appointed by the Trenton City Council to study the need for the construction of a new building. The committee held its first meeting in February 1917 and decided to notify architects in Jackson, Memphis, and Nashville for the submittal of tentative plans for a school building pursuant to the issue of bonds by the city in the amount of $50,000.00.

Selected as the building's architect was Rueben A. Heavner, a prominent architect from Jackson, Tennessee, who had designed high schools for the towns of Jackson, Tennessee, and Lexington, Tennessee. Heavner began his career as a woodturner in his father's architectural firm in Jackson. He soon established himself as a very productive young architect and, by 1910, had formed his own architectural firm. Heavner's designs take their significant architectural features from Greek or Roman classicism, although several of his designs from the 1920s display Moorish elements. Examples of Heavner's work are found in the Jackson (TN) City Hall, New Southern Hotel (Jackson, TN), First National Bank {Jackson, TN), Old Jackson (TN) High School, and many buildings erected at Fort Pillow, Tennessee.

Peabody High School is an example of Heavner's building designs which reflect the Neo-Classical features that were popular during his early career. Noteworthy features on the building include the paired giant ionic columns which sit on a raised ashlar basement and support a full entablature, and the stone door surrounds on the wing entrances. In 1931 a gymnasium was added to the school but was destroyed by fire in 1944. The gym was rebuilt in 1947 with additional classrooms for the agricultural courses. The auditorium was built in 1960 and is attached to the main building.

Future plans for the building include restoration of the exterior and the rehabilitation of the interior into multi-family housing units as well as the restoration of the auditorium for use by the Nightlight Theatre, a local drama troupe.

Building Description

Situated on South College Street in Trenton (population 4,686), Tennessee, the Peabody High School (1917) is a two-story, rectangular, flat-roofed, Neo-Classical style building set on a raised basement. The main building consists of a central projecting portico with a three-bay, two-story wing on either side. The exterior walls of red pressed brick laid in running bond. The foundation is brick and poured concrete which was coursed to simulate stone.

A stone watertable separates the basement and first floor levels. The school building is located on a large, gently rolling lot on the corner of South College Street and Nineth Street.

The main building, designed by Rueben A. Heavner, was constructed in 1917 and reflects the Neo-Classical style of architecture. The raised two-story Neo-Classical portico is supported by four coupled monumental Tuscan columns with elaborate Ionic capitals. The simple entablature is topped by a paneled and capped parapet with coupled parapet posts separating the panels. The recessed main entrance, located in the central bay, consists of paneled double-leaf doors with nine lights in each; multi-paned sidelights, cornerlights, and transom complete the door unit. Above the recessed entrance is a simple entablature that features a stone panel with a datestone inscribed "1917." The second bay of each wing consists of a double-leaf door unit flanked by pilasters supporting a simple entablature. Above each is a stone panel simply inscribed "GIRLS" and "BOYS". The second bay also features a bull's-eye window set in a modified squared frame. A garland of leaves, fruits, and flowers is located above the window; keystone-shaped pendants are attached to the frame below the window. Although windows vary slightly in size, the style is a large one-over-one sash. Window trim consists of molded concrete sills with those windows in the central projecting bay having radiating voussoirs and separated by recessed panels. A brick parapet, which imitates the lines of the central stone parapet, surrounds the building. Additions to the main building occur on the north and south elevations. The gymnasium addition (1947) is of red brick and is attached to the north elevation. Its fenestration employs both multi-paned and 1/1 sash windows. The main entry on the north elevation has a decorative, classically inspired stone surround. The auditorium addition (c.1960) is also of red brick and has a large metal casement windows. Both of these additions have flat roof structures and are set back from the main (east) elevation. A small brick storage building (1975) is attached to the west elevation and auditorium addition. A detached, L-shaped, gable-roofed brick building was also constructed in 1975 to provide more classroom space.

Interior alterations to the Peabody High School have been minimal with much of the original material being retained. The interior space consists of many classrooms connected by a wide hall with access to the basement and second story by interior stairs. Both the interior and exterior have received slight non-structural damage.