The Union times. [volume] (Union, S.C.) 1894-1918, 1914-10-09

tHopkins Mine" land. Just what
wears he taught cannot be ascertain
ed.
Somewhere about the year of iS.i
Spasmodic educational revival tcuk
place. Joshua Jones, from whom the
town of Jonesvillc took its name. n
man of high educational attainments
was secured with his wife to teach y
school near the spring. The school
building was a large double cabin
Dullt OF logs, and stood few hun
dred yards south of where the resi-
dence of Mrs. J. b. Lancaster now
stands. Many prominent people from
diHerent sections of the State sent
their children to West Springs for a
tWo-fold purpose; to drink the water
from the spring and to be placed un-
der the instruction Of so able teach
er as Mr.. Jones. Among those who
attended that school were: General
States Rights GiSt, Colonel Harrison
ID. Floyd, Elan Swink, Captain Sam
uel l.. West, j. Pack West, Mrs. Per
necia Smith and many others. Manv
CABINS, built near the spring and the
MOTEL, which had been built a few
years before the opening of Mr.
Jones school, afforded lodging faces
Tor the pupils who attended + SyIa
distance. Dancing, and some fo;SSisterc' oUSifJer
forms of physical training, was
taught. Mr.. Jones and his wife onlv
taught one term. For some reason
the school, which undoubtedly was
Tar superior to those taught in for
mer years, was broken up and Mr.
Jones left the community.
During the year of lS45 William
bennett taught about two miles from
west Springs on the Sulphur Springs
road near where the home of Can't.
John l.. johnson now stands. In 1916
John Long taught at this same place.
School was resumed in 1847 at the
Jones schoolhouse, Wiley Lancaster
was the teacher.
About the year 1850 the school was
moved to log house on the West
gold mine. This house is still stand
ing, and is now used as a dwelling.
Among the teachers who taught at
this place were Miss Martha Began,
Wiley Lancaster and the late Samuel
Wlles Vernon Hunt, who died a few
weeks ago at an advanced age at his
home at Guntown, Mississippi.
While the civil war was in progress
there was no school taught in this i'm
mediate section. A few years after
the war was over, Captain Samuel
l. West, j. B. Lancaster and others
taught at intervals.
In the first of the year 1879 another
educational revival took place. Rev.
George Anderson came to West
Springs and established high school.
The interest in this school was to
some extent statewide. There was
large attendance and many pupils
were enrolled from different sections
of the State. Some of the teachers
employed were: DR.. McCants John
Johnson and John Scott Murry, now
Professor of English at Mercer uni
versity of Macon, Georgia, and j. b.
Parrott. 1t would not be amiss to
name few of the pupils who attend
ed the school from some distance:
Warlie and Furman Parrot, j. Walk |
er Long, j. T. A. Belue, j. L. Belue,
j. G. Howell, Willie Murphy, of Mis-
sissippi, now prominent lawyer Of
New York City; Jonas Swink, w. G.. |
S. O'Shields, w. j. Garner, j. f. Bur-
CESS, a Baptist preacher, Frank Mil
Ter, Josepr Cole, w. I. Green, Bonham
Witherspoon, John McCown, Thomas
Kelly, now a physician, T. II. Pcake,
j. c. Gibbs, James Chandler, Sam
q. McCravy, and j. Rutledge Lawson,
w. Barlow Houston, brother of Hon.
David f. Houston, secretary of agri-
culture in President Wilson's cabinet,
was prepared for college at this
school.
Then were quite number of peo-
pie who moved into the community to |
get the advantage of the school fa-
cilities. Among them were: DR.. j. |
Fincher Norman, DR.. c. r. Murphy, |
DR.. Robert Little, C. b. Bobo, Capt. |
j. w. McCravey, Robert Johnson, Col. |
ID. c. Gist, Mrs. Mary Sparks and
others. The school ran on till 1882, |
when it was stopped.
Short sessions were taught in the |
old West Springs academy by Rev.
William Foster, Prof. Forrest Nc
Kown and Miss Annie Little. After |
that for many years, the old building |
was used as a barn by Mr.. Larkin |
Lancaster and Mr.. Charles r. Law
son.
Several little schools sprang up in
Continued on page g.