Richland Two restores The Little Red School House
Contributed by Richland School District Two

The Little Red School House needs your help! Richland School District Two is restoring the Killian School, a one–room school house that educated children in the Blythewood area from 1905 to the late 1940s. The district is asking former students and community residents to donate items to furnish the school house. When finished, it will serve as a living museum documenting education in the early 1900s. It also will provide community meeting space.

Richland Two recently received a grant from Richland County Conservation Commission to create and preserve a living museum in the Old Killian School. The school was moved from its original site at Killian and Longtown Roads to Killian Elementary School on Clemson Road in Northeast Columbia in 2001.

Several thousand students attended the Old Killian School. Over 50 participated in an oral history project begun in 2001, relating their memories and sharing mementos such as report cards and class pictures. Their assistance has helped district educators plan the museum. However, more items from the period are needed to complete the project. They include slate boards, lesson plans, text books, student and teacher desks, an outdoor water pump, a pot–bellied stove, period clothing, and additional report cards and photographs.

To donate items to the Little Red School House project, please contact the Richland Two Community Relations office at 738-3210, or take the items directly to Killian Elementary School. Donations will be catalogued and placed on exhibit in the renovated building. Additionally, donors’ names will be listed on special signs at the museum.

To track the progress of the Little Red School House renovation project, please visit www.richland2.org.

The Richland Two Education Foundation and the Little Red School House Advisory Committee are administering the grant. The award–winning district, serving Northeast Richland County, has over 22,000 students in 31 schools and programs.

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