Olympia Mill School

Front inscription

One of approx. 300 homes built 1900-01 for workers at nearby Olympbia Cotton Mill, this 6-room duplex later housed the Olympia Mill School. Organized by first teacher and principal Mary “Mamie” Boozer (1874-1947) at the behest of company leaders and county school officials, the school opened in Oct. 1901 in a one-room building with about thirty white pupils, whose families came to the mill seeking personal opportunity.

Reverse inscription

Enrollment at the Olympia school grew quickly, and in 1902 classes moved to this larger frame building. When converted to a school, the house’s interior partition walls were removed to form three large classrooms. By 1909, around 240 students attended Olympia each day with 8 teachers. For a time, it was the largest school in Richland County. In fall 1909, the school moved into a new 2-story brick building in an adjacent lot just SE.