Pickens School

This week I had the opportunity of driving to one of my favorite places in West Virginia. I visited the Elementary/High School at Pickens in Randolph County. There is no doubt that this is the most remote and smallest of the public schools in the state. The school has a population of approximately 40 students in grades K through 12. The students are taught by seven teachers.

The school is a visit to the past. The small white wood structure with coal powered boilers and oiled wooden floors is truly unique in this day. Even though this school is small, it has been named this month as one of the 2005 exemplary schools in West Virginia. This distinction is not new to this school. This is a real credit to the learning and teaching going on here.

It is always great to see the Pickens School’s yearbook. As you could guess the graduating class takes up a page or two with the students getting very large photos.

There will be a new school at the site and it is already under construction. The photo below shows the new school after completion.

Pickens came into being in the 1890s and the first sawmill was located in the town in 1891. By 1892, a railroad was running to Pickens (Incidentally, the day railroad service began on July 4, 1892, it snowed in Pickens!) The town is located on the right fork of the Buckhannon River, and is the home of The West Virginia Maple Syrup Festival. It has a great community ramp dinner in April. Yummy!!