the cost of $ 1,200 . The one-room structure is frame with clapboard siding , heated by a stove with brick flue , and stands today . The school continued to serve as a center for the community , hosting school plays and chorales .
The 1920s and 1930s ushered in renewed vigor to Willisville . The first telephone arrived in the village in 1931 . The neighboring farms continued to offer employment within walking distance ; many village residents worked as gardeners , butlers or chauffeurs . The Willisville Store was the center of the village economy . With limited transportation outside of the village and Jim Crow segregation laws , the store represented the only area for purchase of items , which could not be produced on a farm . With few southern banks in operation , rural stores operated on credit , becoming de facto banks in their communities .
The most remarkable thing about Willisville is that many of the same families and same houses remain today .
Willisville was listed on the National Register in 2018 , honoring its history and the dwellings that remain today . Village resident Carol Lee continues the work of research and is currently writing a book on the families of Willisville .
Carol Lee was raised in Willisville and lives there today and is dedicated to the preservation of the village . She serves as president of the Willisville Preservation Foundation . Jane Covington is a local preservationist . She wrote Willisville ’ s National Register nomination and serves on the Board of the Willisville Preservation Foundation .
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