WEST HILLSBOROUGH GRADED SCHOOL (FIRST)

"West Hillsborough School - Early 1900s" from History of the Town of Hillsborough 1754-1966, p. 152.

In late 1918, when the "Spanish flu" epidemic spread to the Eno and Bellevue mill districts, the mill officials opened a "diet kitchen" at the school, and it ran for about seven weeks. Elizabeth Cornelius, a Home Demonstration Agent, was in charge of the kitchen, with Emma Robertson and Mildred Durham working as her assistants. The chairman of West Hill, Mr. C. H. Robertson, supervised the project. Rebecca Wall was a volunteer. As many as 150 people were fed daily, with an average of 90 people fed per day. Not only those sick with influenza were fed, but the families with no one to cook or provide for them were also fed. During this time, Mrs. Emerson Graham and Allie Graham were nurses to the mill workers, and Miss Duncan, the "deaconess at the Mills," assisted. 

West End School aerial view, view north, 1920s (school indicated by red arrow)

A new brick West Hillsborough School was built on Benton/Margaret in 1938. On the 1943 Sanborn map, this buiding is labelled "Community Club House." - evidently it functioned as some sort of community center (mainly for the mill workers) after the relocation of the school.

West End School auditorium interior, ca. 1950

West End School auditorium interior, ca. 1950

In the 1950s it was converted into 13 one-room apartments. On the night of April 15, 1957, a fire destroyed the structure. Even with a quick reaction by the Hillsboro Fire Department, the structure was a total loss; luckily, no one was killed or injured in the fire. The fire originated on either the first floor or in the basement/crawlspace.

April 1957 fire (image via The News of Orange)

As of 2016, it's a vacant lot to the rear of the First Community Baptist Church on Eno Street.

07.31.2016 (G. Kueber)