THE RURAL HISTORY OF JOHNS ISLAND IS IN DANGER OF WASHING AWAY , LIKE THE RAINS FROM A SUMMER THUNDERSTORM SOAKING INTO THE SANDY LOAM OF A SEA ISLAND . A SEEMINGLY INSIGNIFICANT PIECE OF THAT HISTORY IS THE WALNUT HILL SCHOOLHOUSE , A ONE-ROOM WOODEN SCHOOL BUILT IN 1868 THAT SITS SILENTLY IN A WOODED AREA IN A STATE OF DILAPIDATION .
Originally built for the children of formerly enslaved people after the end of the Civil War , it is now unused and decaying , directly adjacent to a residential area with prosperity levels that are well above the state average . The common sense solution to saving the schoolhouse has long been on hold , and the danger is that the stalemate between developers and those hoping to preserve the schoolhouse may result in a failing grade for a historical site that could still serve to educate the community .
If you haven ’ t heard of the Walnut Hill School , you might be surprised to learn that you drive past it on every trip to Seabrook , Bohicket Marina and Market , or Kiawah Island . While the signage at a restaurant or a produce stand may better catch the attention of motorists , the small wooden schoolhouse sits just off the road and blends into the backdrop of moss-covered oaks . Despite its near invisibility , the schoolhouse has had its champions in recent history , including Johns Island residents Betty Stringfellow and Sidi Limehouse and the Americorps organization . It ’ s hard to imagine having one teacher for a classroom packed with students of all ages , but that was the job , and those teachers are another part of the story of Walnut Hill . Many of the teachers who came from New England down to Johns Island after the Civil War were missionaries dedicated to aiding newly freed Americans . In fact , the first teacher at Walnut Hill was a woman named Mary Sharp , from Pennsylvania . The Methodist Freedman Society also supported the school , where enrollment swelled during the fall of 1868 , its first year . After a little over a decade , the school ’ s enrollment changed to serve the local white children , while the Black students were segregated to the dozen or so one-room schoolhouses on the island at that time . Classes continued at
50 • KIAWAH CONSERVANCY