Poynor Junior High School
Introduction
Text-to-speech Audio
Now an adult education center, the former Poynor Junior High School is the oldest school building still standing in Florence County. It was built in 1908 and has remained an important landmark for the city ever since. It is also an excellent example of Georgian Revival architecture and features a large portico with Ionic columns. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.
Images
Poynor Junior High School was built in 1908 and closed in 1975. Since then it has operated as an adult education center.
Backstory and Context
Text-to-speech Audio
Poynor Junior High School was completed after two years of construction. It was built on property previously owned by the trustees of an African American school. They sold the property on the the condition that a new African American school would be built. It appears that Poynor School, which was first called "New School," had classes for elementary, middle, and high school. However, it became too crowded and the high school moved back returned to the old school. New School was then renamed Central School. The name was eventually changed again to Central Graded School and then in 1922, it became Florence Junior High School. In 1955, it was renamed Poynor Junior High School after Rev. and Mrs. Wilmer S. Poynor. Poynor closed in 1975 and it was at that point that it became and adult education center. The most notable event to take place at Poynor was a banquet held in honor of President Howard Taft in 1910 (it unclear what the purpose of the banquet was).
Sources
Wylie, Suzzane Pickens & Wells, John. "Central Graded School, Florence Junior High School." National Park Service - National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form. May 19, 1983. https://npgallery.nps.gov/GetAsset/d05734d9-3501-4c8f-b926-37e1edcfcef0.
Wikimedia Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Poynor_Junior_High_School.jpg