1935 building razed at old Billingsley School campus
BILLINGSLEY − Most of the buildings on the old Billingsley School campus are gone now, taking 89 years of history with them.
Yet, there is still a future for the parcel as an academic complex for the current school. Built in 2000, the current Pre-K-12 school has an enrollment of about 575, and can be seen from the old campus.
The first school in Billingsley was a one-room schoolhouse built on the old campus in 1898. That led to a wood-frame school built in about 1935. The 1935 building, and others, have now been razed. History and community reaction were considered before the heavy machinery moved in, said Superintendent Lyman Woodfin.
“When I first became superintendent, what we were going to do with these buildings came up,” he said. "They had been empty for so long, vandalized, and in a state of disrepair. We had to do something.”
One cold snap several winters ago burst pipes in the old building, and water ran for days damaging the wood floors and other structural elements.
School pride and family roots run deep here in northwest Autauga County, with generations walking through the old building. Woodfin knows all about that. Before being appointed superintendent by the board of education about seven months ago, he was principal at Marbury High School, another rural, generational school.
Plans are to preserve artifacts from the old campus at the new campus, said Principal Angie McLean. Her roots run deep at the school too, serving up here as teacher and now principal for more than 20 years.
“We are planning a wall of honor,” she said, of plans at the current school.
Back at the old campus, the football stadium got a major facelift in 2018. Crumbling concrete bleachers were replaced. New aluminum seating went up and other work was done at a cost of about $409,000.
The stadium has a bright future for football and other sports. A baseball diamond sits just a few hundred feet away, serving softball and baseball teams.
The gym at the old campus was saved to be used as a weight room and for other purposes. A portion of the 1960s-era classroom buildings will stay.
“We were able to put a roof on those classrooms and preserve the building,” Woodfin said. “It was being used by the youth (sports) league, so they still have a building. And now the school can use it as a field house or for other purposes.”
The newly opened areas of the campus will be used for parking for athletic events.
Contact Montgomery Advertiser reporter Marty Roney at mroney@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: 1935 building razed at old Billingsley School campus
