Atlanta-Miller Grade School

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Public education in Atlanta, up in Cass County, goes all the way back to 1874. That's a long time of chalk dust and recitation drills, of children filing in through schoolhouse doors generation after generation.

But not all through the same doors. Prior to the civil rights era of the mid-twentieth century, separate schools served Anglo and African American students in Atlanta. That's the plain truth of it, and it deserves to sit there for a moment before we move on.

In 1936, federal funding came through the Works Progress Administration, and a school was built at this very site for white students. It was called Atlanta Grade School then, and it was a brand new building in a time when brand new buildings were not something you took for granted. The years went by, enrollment climbed, and the place grew with it.

Additions went up as the need demanded. Somewhere along the way the name changed too, and folks came to call it Miller Grade School. Then 1970 arrived, and the school was integrated.

All the children, through the same doors at last. The building kept serving as a public school until 1974, and after that it didn't just sit idle and collect silence. Through the 1990s it was put to use for various services, still part of the community's life.

And when the question finally came up of what would happen to it next, a group of citizens who cared about this place and what it represented went ahead and purchased the building from the school district in 2001. They saw something worth keeping. And thanks to them, the story didn't end.

What the marker says

Public education in Atlanta dates to 1874. Prior to the civil rights era of the mid-20th century, separate schools served Anglo and African American students. The school at this site, known initially as Atlanta Grade School, was built for white students in 1936 with federal funding through the Works Progress Administration. Due to high enrollment, building additions were completed over the years. Known later as Miller Grade School, the facility was integrated in 1970 and remained in use as a public school until 1974. It was used for various services through the 1990s. A group of citizens concerned about its preservation purchased the building from the school district in 2001. (2006)