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'It's definitely worth preserving': Effort to revitalize former all-Black school in Lawrenceburg continues

Posted at 11:35 AM, Feb 19, 2024
and last updated 2024-02-19 14:28:39-05

LAWRENCEBURG, Tenn. (WTVF) — About 90 minutes south of Nashville, there is an ongoing effort to transform a building that used to be an all-Black school into a museum and community center.

You may remember we covered this a couple of years ago.

"We formed this group to save this historic site," said James Wallace, West Gaines School Community Center president.

School Patrol: Restoring West Gaines School

Now a new development may help make that happen.

"This is a mutually beneficial way for our students to utilize the skills that they've learned in the classroom while helping the community," Rebecca Moore said.

Moore is a Lawrenceburg native and is an assistant professor of Interior Design at Belmont University.

"We'll really give them a full set of drawings that they can use probably to build from and if not at least used to get people excited," Moore said.

Six students will be working on their projects for months, wrapping up in August. Right now, the West Gaines School Community Center organization is actively fundraising to fix up this building.

"Sometimes people just need to see the vision of what it can be," Moore said.

The fundraiser is happening on Feb. 24 and you can learn more about the ongoing efforts to restore the building, here.


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