Possum Trot School
Possum Trot School is located in the upstate city of Gaffney. It was built in 1880 and is one of the few remaining one-room schools in South Carolina. The school was originally located on farmland in the Midway community just outside Gaffney. It was constructed by brothers Jimmy and Tom Pettit (with the help from other Cherokee County residents) and educated students through 11th grade. The name “Possum Trot” is a term used in the South to describe a shortcut between two rural homesteads or villages.
With the construction of newer, larger schools, Possum Trot School was abandoned and eventually fell into disrepair. In 1969, Louise Phifer Camp hired local builder Ernest Wyatt to restore the schoolhouse as a gift for her husband Bill Camp, a Gaffney native who attended the school with his siblings. Although the school had greatly deteriorated over the years, its foundation was still intact, which made it possible for Wyatt to restore the building to its original measurements.
Due to a property transfer in 1992, the school had to be moved to its current location next to Hamrick’s department store on Peachoid Road. It now sits just a half-mile from the famous Gaffney Peachoid.
www.scpictureproject.org/cherokee-county/possum-trot-schoool...
Possum Trot School has a new home
December 13, 2021
The Possum Trot one-room schoolhouse, which was built in 1880 and in use for 30 years, has been moved to the grounds of the Cherokee County History and Arts Museum on College Drive. The structure is one of only 200 in the country and was previously located on frontage road near Hamrick’s.
www.gaffneyledger.com/articles/possum-trot-school-has-a-new_home...
TL;DR
Possum Trot School is an old one-room school in Gaffney, SC. Built in 1880, it's one of the few left in the state. The school was on farmland, built by locals. It taught up to 11th grade.
As bigger schools were built, Possum Trot was abandoned and fell apart. In 1969, a local restored it as a gift. In 1992, it had to be moved to its current spot next to a famous peach water tower.
In 2021, the school was moved again to the Cherokee County History and Arts Museum. It's one of only 200 such schools left in the US.