The brick building that is the heart of Moss Hill School has lasted a hundred years. In continuous use since 1917, the building that is now the heart of Moss Hill Elementary School has been expanded and remodeled several times, as the school itself has changed from an all-grades school for a small rural area to a school for LCPS’s youngest students in southwestern Lenoir County.
Moss Hill School was built during an era of school consolidation, bringing students from Moss Hill Academy, Sandy Bottom, Blands, Byrds and Moss Hill districts under one roof. Construction of the school 100 years ago – when the communities of Sandy Bottom, Bland and Byrd came together in the name of education – constituted a dramatic sign of progress and cemented the school’s place as the focal point of this rural area. The district was enlarged in 1924 to encompass the New Hope School District. That addition brought the school staff up to 13 teachers, less than half of the 31 teachers, nine teacher’s assistants and school counselor the school employs today.
Following its construction in 1917, the school was expanded twice in the 1950’s, including a school gym constructed in 1955. Students today sit in the same auditorium chairs as students 100 years ago, and watch presentations on the same stage that was built in 1917. Moss Hill is the oldest school building in the state still being used as a school.
