The Little Red Schoolhouse
The Little Red
Schoolhouse
The
Little
Red
Schoolhouse
Athens,
Alabama
Near downtown Athens, among it’s historic southern mansions, lies one of the oldest marked
cemeteries in Alabama, the Old City Cemetery.
Earliest burials are from the 1820’s. They range through the entire century, with just a few
burials beyond 1900.
The oldest markers are covered in moss and are nearly impossible to read. Other markers have
sunken below ground. Still others are damaged beyond repair.
In 1827, the area surrounding the cemetery was purchased for the development of Athens’ first
school, now known as the Little Red Schoolhouse.
The quaint little building serves as the Athens School System’s superintendent office now,
but still looks much the same way it did one hundred years ago.
Some say it is because of the school's proximity to the cemetery. Others say it is because of
the many students who have passed through its doors. Either way, few people will stay in the
building at night.
the old city cemetery
early settlers rest
aging monuments
athens' first school
the schoolhouse entrance
the upper windows
