WATAUGA COUNTY, N.C. — A Watauga County man is working hard to save a school one piece of wood at a time.

The school was built more than 100 years ago, and he decided to move it to his land so it could be kept safe.

What You Need To Know

• Robert Williams is trying to save a small school built more than 100 years ago
• He along with volunteers have taken the school down piece by piece, but now they have to work to put it back up
• They are asking for volunteers to help with the project

Robert Williams is a professional saxophone player, but on the weekends lately, he can be seen outdoors with a hammer in his hand.

It’s a large project that has already taken several weeks and could take up to another year to complete, but each board tells a story of the history of Watauga County.

“My grandmother went to school here in 1938 and wrote things on them and signed them,” Williams said.

There are piles of wood now on his property, all labeled so it can go back in its original place. It’s a building that once sat on the property next door, and was a one-room schoolhouse built 135 years ago.

“They had one teaching. They had seven grades,” Williams said.

It was built on Williams’ great grandfather’s land. He had given two acres to the county to build a school.

“Up to 40 kids going there at a time,” Williams said.

The school closed in 1953 and had a deep history that many people in the county share. This is why he said he had to save the school.

The land was recently sold after his aunt passed away. The new owners understood his desire to save it and gave him the school for free.

Moving it isn’t easy, he said, and has taken the help of many volunteers and a lot of money along the way.

“It’s down now, which is a little sad, but we are hoping it goes back up and is preserved for generations,” William said.

Williams is hoping that people can teach things like woodworking and music inside the building again soon.

He is in need of more volunteers to help with the project, and says putting it back up is going to cost a lot of money. To help with costs, Williams has started a GoFundMe page, which can be found here.

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