This is an old one-room schoolhouse, which also doubled as a church in its time. It was built sometime in the mid-1800s and, as you can see, has been very well maintained. In old schoolhouses like this in the area of Kentucky that I'm from, the boys would sit on one side of the room, girls on the other, and there would be a huge wood-burning furnace at the front in a feeble attempt to keep everyone warm during the winter months (as most children had to work around their own homes during the late spring and summer, and I suppose fall as well); very much like the old "Little House on the Prairie" show. This information came from my great-grandpa before he passed away in 1996. I'm not quite sure how they held church, or whether the men and women sat on separate sides. It now sits on private property, so this was as close as I could get to it without trespassing...and, in that area of Kentucky, people aren't hesitant about shooting trespassers! Enjoy!

And the thumb..the right size this time, I think. :-D

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can just imagine all the kids that passed through those doors at one time :] (thumbs- 100 wide, 80 tall.. close, resized, np :)

According to my Aunt (years ago) the stove in the front is why the "Bad boys" always sat in the back of the room. That was their punishment. (She used to teach in one of these in the early 1900's in Minnesota):) It does look incredibly well maintained. Would love to see the inside sometime too. Rich

I LOVE this, Krista! Beautifully captured and it's something that i personally love 'cause my dad went to a school like this. In fact, we drove by the old schoolhouse 1 year ago. My dad warned both me and kemal before we got there do NOT even show that camera or try to take a pic from the car. Many people in that area won't hesitate to shoot if they don't know you. in the hills, growing Mary Jane earns them quite the income. they don't want people takin' pictures of their crops.

Cool!!! Just like in the movies :D

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Thanks Cyn!! :-) I'm getting a little better at the thumb..for some reason my brain doesn't retain that information when I go back to Photoshop to resize. That's really interesting Rich! Makes total sense of course. My great-grandpa used to say that there were some days when he went to school that it would be snowing so hard that it would literally be snowing inside the building and the boys couldn't see the girls, just one the other side of the school!! My grandma went to a school like this as well, up until she got into 9th grade. :-) Not likely to see the inside anytime soon, unless my granda or somebody could track down the owner..it's at the edge of someone's fields, and I'll give you three guesses what's probably hidden among the plants somewhere in the middle! Thanks Sheila!! This one's pretty close to my heart too. There was another one that I wanted to get a shot of, that my great-great grandpa built, but it fell down and they bulldozed everything off and cleaned it up to where it doesn't even look like anything's ever been there now. But, our family did get the bell! But you're right about the MJ..exactly why I didn't try to get any closer than I did as well!! They definitely aren't shy about shooting at people, and, in those mountains, no one would EVER find the body!!! Thanks PeeWee!! That it is..wish I could've gotten closer though.