On this site stands a rural one room schoolhouse built in 1890.

Named for the Davidson family it served the white children of the rural community around Rural Hill and northwestern Mecklenburg County.

Many of the children walked to the school or rode in wagons; an early means of carpooling.

The schoolhouse was later moved just 30 yards to the south to its present location to make room for a newer and larger, two-room schoolhouse, built in 1911.

This new schoolhouse served as an educational facility for all grades until 1923. As school systems were created and became more centralized, white children were relocated to a much larger school, Long Creek School (still active), which is located on Beatties Ford Road approximately 1 mile south of Hopewell Presbyterian Church.

African American children began attending the 1911 Davidson Schoolhouse until they too were relocated to Long Creek School.

The 1911 Schoolhouse was eventually torn down, and in 2003 an educational pavilion was constructed in the same size and scale of the original schoolhouse. This outdoor pavilion serves as a picnic area and interpretive classroom for the Rural Hill staff. The building was made possible through a grant from The Knight Foundation and the Charlotte Mecklenburg Landmarks Commission in cooperation with Historic Charlotte Foundation.

The 1890 Davidson Schoolhouse, having served as a tenant farmer house and later storage for hay, was restored in the early 1990’s by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Landmarks Commission to its original appearance both exterior and interior.

The Catawba Valley Scottish Society now works jointly with the CMLH to preserve and maintain this historic structure.

Today, visitors can step inside the old school and feel as if they have gone back in time to the days of the School Marm. A reconstructed outhouse (non-usable) located behind the schoolhouse adds to the interpretation of the site as well.

American One Room Schoolhouse

The Catawba Valley Scottish Society Staff At Rural Hill offers group tours of our program, School Days.