Long Creek Academy
Encyclopedia
The Long Creek Academy is a former Christian school
that is located at the intersection of Academy Road and South Carolina S-37-339 near U.S. Route 76
near Long Creek, South Carolina
in Oconee County. It was named to the National Register of Historic Places
on November 20, 1987. It is currently used by a whitewater rafting
company.
. It was one of six "mountain mission schools" in the South including four others in South Carolina.
The Academy had 55 acre (22 ha). The Main Building was completed in 1914, and the Sullivan Building was completed in 1917.
In 1916, the Saluda Baptist Association agreed to cooperate with the Beaverdam Baptist Association for the equipment of the academy. In 1922, the General Board of the South Carolina Baptist Convention took over operation of the school. In 1931, the South Carolina Baptist Convention sold the property.
The principal of the Academy, Rev. Luther Henry Raines, reorganized the school as a private corporation. It became an accredited state high school. Although Bible courses were still taught, the State of South Carolina assisted in paying the teachers until 1952. Raines operated the Academy without state or denominational aid until 1956.
The property was divided and sold. In 1976, James and Jeanette Greiner bought 19 acre (8 ha) including the two buildings of the Academy. They converted it into the local headquarters for a river rafting outfitter for the nearby Chattooga River
.
that is now covered in composition shingles. The roof has a square cupola
with pyramidal roof and four brick chimneys. The windows are six over six light, double-hung sash window
s.
The front elevation has seven bays
. There is a gable-roofed portico, supported by four brick columns covered in stucco, that extends across three bays of the front elevation. There is a semi-circular fanlight
on the gable end of its roof. The main door has nine lights with a transom.
The interior has a central corridor with stairs leading to a second-story landing. A second set of stairs leads to the second floor. The interior has heart pine floors, tongue and groove
ceilings, and plaster walls. The first floor had a kitchen, office, four classrooms, and a rest room. The second floor has four classrooms and four dormitory rooms.
As shown in old photographs, the building was originally painted a dark color with white trim. Now, it is painted white. Additional pictures are available.
, was built in 1917 about 150 yards (137 m) to the northwest of the Main Building. The Sullivan Building is an L-shaped, two story, wood frame building with a hip roof. Its west wing built in at a later time. The building has unpainted weatherboarding
. There are eight chimneys. The original part of the building has six over six light sash windows. The addition's original windows have been replaced by either shutters or one over one windows.
This building originally had fifteen dormitory rooms. Its interior has been modified for its current business. There is also a non-contributing shed between the two buildings.
Christian school
A Christian school is a school run on Christian principles or by a Christian organization.The nature of Christian schools varies enormously from country to country, according to the religious, educational, and political cultures...
that is located at the intersection of Academy Road and South Carolina S-37-339 near U.S. Route 76
U.S. Route 76
U.S. Route 76 is an east–west United States highway that runs for from Chattanooga, Tennessee to Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina.-Tennessee:...
near Long Creek, South Carolina
Long Creek, South Carolina
Long Creek is an unincorporated community in western Oconee County, South Carolina, USA. It is located within the Sumter National Forest. It is the location of the Long Creek Academy, which is on the National Register of Historic Places....
in Oconee County. It was named to the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
on November 20, 1987. It is currently used by a whitewater rafting
Rafting
Rafting or white water rafting is a challenging recreational outdoor activity using an inflatable raft to navigate a river or other bodies of water. This is usually done on white water or different degrees of rough water, in order to thrill and excite the raft passengers. The development of this...
company.
History
In 1913, the Beaverdam Baptist Association began planning for a high school for rural children in Oconee County. The school began in 1914 under the Beaverdam Baptist Association and the Home Mission Board of the Southern Baptist ConventionSouthern Baptist Convention
The Southern Baptist Convention is a United States-based Christian denomination. It is the world's largest Baptist denomination and the largest Protestant body in the United States, with over 16 million members...
. It was one of six "mountain mission schools" in the South including four others in South Carolina.
The Academy had 55 acre (22 ha). The Main Building was completed in 1914, and the Sullivan Building was completed in 1917.
In 1916, the Saluda Baptist Association agreed to cooperate with the Beaverdam Baptist Association for the equipment of the academy. In 1922, the General Board of the South Carolina Baptist Convention took over operation of the school. In 1931, the South Carolina Baptist Convention sold the property.
The principal of the Academy, Rev. Luther Henry Raines, reorganized the school as a private corporation. It became an accredited state high school. Although Bible courses were still taught, the State of South Carolina assisted in paying the teachers until 1952. Raines operated the Academy without state or denominational aid until 1956.
The property was divided and sold. In 1976, James and Jeanette Greiner bought 19 acre (8 ha) including the two buildings of the Academy. They converted it into the local headquarters for a river rafting outfitter for the nearby Chattooga River
Chattooga River
The Chattooga River is the main tributary of the Tugaloo River. Its headwaters are located southwest of Cashiers, North Carolina, and it stretches to where it has its confluence with the Tallulah River within Lake Tugalo, held back by the Tugalo Dam...
.
Main Building
The Main building is an L-shaped, wood frame, two-story building with an attic. It has a river rock and concrete foundation covered with stucco that was scored to resemble cut stone. The building has weatherboard siding on the first story and wood shingles on the second story. The building originally had a metal hip roofHip roof
A hip roof, or hipped roof, is a type of roof where all sides slope downwards to the walls, usually with a fairly gentle slope. Thus it is a house with no gables or other vertical sides to the roof. A square hip roof is shaped like a pyramid. Hip roofs on the houses could have two triangular side...
that is now covered in composition shingles. The roof has a square cupola
Cupola
In architecture, a cupola is a small, most-often dome-like, structure on top of a building. Often used to provide a lookout or to admit light and air, it usually crowns a larger roof or dome....
with pyramidal roof and four brick chimneys. The windows are six over six light, double-hung sash window
Sash window
A sash window or hung sash window is made of one or more movable panels or "sashes" that form a frame to hold panes of glass, which are often separated from other panes by narrow muntins...
s.
The front elevation has seven bays
Bay (architecture)
A bay is a unit of form in architecture. This unit is defined as the zone between the outer edges of an engaged column, pilaster, or post; or within a window frame, doorframe, or vertical 'bas relief' wall form.-Defining elements:...
. There is a gable-roofed portico, supported by four brick columns covered in stucco, that extends across three bays of the front elevation. There is a semi-circular fanlight
Fanlight
A fanlight is a window, semicircular or semi-elliptical in shape, with glazing bars or tracery sets radiating out like an open fan, It is placed over another window or a doorway. and is sometimes hinged to a transom. The bars in the fixed glazed window spread out in the manner a sunburst...
on the gable end of its roof. The main door has nine lights with a transom.
The interior has a central corridor with stairs leading to a second-story landing. A second set of stairs leads to the second floor. The interior has heart pine floors, tongue and groove
Tongue and groove
A strong joint, the tongue and groove joint is widely used for re-entrant angles. The effect of wood shrinkage is concealed when the joint is beaded or otherwise moulded...
ceilings, and plaster walls. The first floor had a kitchen, office, four classrooms, and a rest room. The second floor has four classrooms and four dormitory rooms.
As shown in old photographs, the building was originally painted a dark color with white trim. Now, it is painted white. Additional pictures are available.
Sullivan Building
The Sullivan Building, which was named for Paul P. Sullivan of WestminsterWestminster, South Carolina
Westminster is a city in Oconee County, South Carolina, United States. It was started mostly as a station on the Southern Railway. Then as stores, shops and factories started to set up around the train stop, it bloomed into a decent-sized town. Its peak of expansion came in the 1920s. The...
, was built in 1917 about 150 yards (137 m) to the northwest of the Main Building. The Sullivan Building is an L-shaped, two story, wood frame building with a hip roof. Its west wing built in at a later time. The building has unpainted weatherboarding
Weatherboarding
Weatherboarding is the cladding or ‘siding’ of a house consisting of long thin timber boards that overlap one another, either vertically or horizontally on the outside of the wall. They are usually of rectangular section with parallel sides...
. There are eight chimneys. The original part of the building has six over six light sash windows. The addition's original windows have been replaced by either shutters or one over one windows.
This building originally had fifteen dormitory rooms. Its interior has been modified for its current business. There is also a non-contributing shed between the two buildings.