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Noble Hill School was built in 1923 in Cassville, Georgia. It was the first school building in Northwest Georgia built to standard specifications for the express purpose of educating black children. In 1955 the schools in Bartow County were consolidated and Noble Hill students were sent to Bartow Elementary School, thus ending 32 years of education and heritage at the Noble Hill School....or so many thought. But in 1982, the school building, now in need of much repair, was remembered and efforts to restore it began. The restoration was completed in 1989. Open House was held December 17th of that year opening the new Noble Hill-Wheeler Memorial Center to the public. The first trustees of the new facility were: Allen Beavers, Jr, Robert Beavers, Judge Robert Benham, Nathaniel Harris, Horace L. Jones, Winston Strickland, Robert Cotton, and Kathleen Washingtn, Joe N. Weems, Bertha W. Wheeler, Dan W. Wheeler, Sr., James H. Wheeler, Susie W. Wheeler, and Willie G. Wofford (Chairman). The first Curator was Kimberly Livsey. The facility now serves as a cultural and heritage center, with an emphasis on black education and lifestyles dating back to the early 1900's. |
1983 - Sporadic discussions on the possibility of getting the site for restoration led to the organization of a group to investigate the possiblilty of securing the Noble Hill School for restoration. Contact was made with the owner, Mrs. Bertha Wheeler, about the property and her willingness to sell it to the group. 1984 - Mrs. Bertha Wheeler made it known that, after some thought, she had decided to give the site to be utilized for a heritage center in memory of her father-in-law, W.H. Wheeler, the builder of the original structure, and her deceased husband, who purchased the building and used it for paper storage and baling. Mrs. Wheeler's home became the meeting place for the committee composed of Robert Beavers, Robert Cotton, Justice Robert Benham, Bertha Wheeler, Nathaniel Harris, Winston Strickland, Kathleen Washington, Dan and Susie Wheeler, Willie Wofford and James Wheeler. |
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Rubbish was cleared from the building by committee members and other volunteers. Contact was made with the Historic Preservation Section of the Department of Natural Resources requesting a site evaluation. Contact also was made with the Coosa Valley Regional Development Center, and its historic preservation planner joined in the restoration effort. The Preservation Setion sent an historian and an architect to examine the structure. They decided that the structure was worthy of restoration and sent guidelines. 1985 - Fundraising activities went in to full swing, with former students and the business community involved in the effort, which gave the committee the first public money for restoration. Committee members had given monies for communication purposes and also made pledges. |
The Bartow County Commissioner was contacted for clearing the grounds. Tin was placed on the roof as the first major accomplishment in the restoration effort. The second major step was that of restoring the dilapidated parts of the building and replacing the windows. Joe Weems joined the committee as a trustee.
1986 - More people were needed to get involved in the project and the decision was made to contact all former students, in order to build interest in restoring the building and in fundraising activity. On July 27, 1986, former students paraded at the Cass Middle School with banners representing the years of 1923 - 24, 1935 - 45, and 1946 - 1955, and the first $3,000 was raised. One of the former students, Allen Beavers, Jr. joined the trustee board and along with other volunteers helped to remove rubbish from the site. |
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The first priority, as set forth by a plan from the architect, was to get the roof repaired. This was followed by the rebuilding of the west side of the front entrance and repairing the floors in two of the rooms.
The organization submitted a grant application to the National Trust and was awarded the grant to obtain an architect to design the interior of the facility, add restrooms, and heating and air conditioning systems.
1987 - The trustees and other volunteers continued to work and Plan ways of restoring the building as a heritage center. One of the first trustees, Robert Cotton, who had worked diligently on by-laws and other aspects of the project, passed away. Horace Jones joined the trustees to fill the vacancy.
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The Bartow County Commissioner opened a roadway from the main thoroughfare and graded around the building. The Smith family purchased the east section of the orginal site as a memorial to Thomas and Emma Smith who had provided a picnic area and baseball field for the community for more than 30 years. The Noble Hill-Wheeler Memorial Center was placed on the National Register of Historic Places as a historic site. 1988 - This was our success year, as we finally had windows installed in the building. Bartow County installed the plumbing and the bathrooms. A matching grant had provided funds for an architect to design the interior and an additional section for the bathrooms and breezeway. Lights were placed in the building and a heating and air conditioning system installed. |
A plan was devised for completing the all-purpose room, and five persons, Annie Morris, Robert Benham, Arthur Carter, Horace Jones and Winston Strickland, pledged $500 each for the project. Cabinets with a sink were installed. Desks, chairs, typewriter, settees and several other items were given to the center. The primming for painting was done and fundraising efforts continued. More grading was done on the grounds and volunteers increased in numbers. The Coosa Valley RDC historic preservation planner worked closely with the Center.
1989 - This was our banner year. Commissioner Moore employed a curator and a second matching grant was approved from DNR for the development of brochures, handbooks and a set of slides. A planning grant was also approved by the Georgia Humanities Council. The building was painted inside and out, more landscaping was done, including shrubbery and a rail fence. An old-fashioned picnic was held on Labor Day and videos were made of older citizens and former students sharing their experiences. Plans were completed for the opening of the facility to the public. On December 17, 1989, our red-letter day, open house was held in conjunction with our fall fundraiser.
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