The Historic Croft Schoolhouse
Each day, different children were chosen to go next door to the Silas Davis house to pump the drinking water for school. It took several trips and several buckets full to meet the school’s daily drinking water requirements. However, the pupils looked forward to having their turn to escape class for a few minutes to pump water. Two outhouses were located behind the school, one for boys, the other for girls. In the winter, the school was heated by a wood stove. Since the school was close to the general store and the railroad tracks, teachers and pupils became accustomed to the seasonal whistle of the cotton gin and the daily noise of trains.
The new schoolhouse (formerly the VFW post )was built in the 1930s across the road from the original school. The original school stopped serving students and had several uses throughout the 20th century. However, in 2012, the school became a school again, when Pioneer Springs Community School founded its first classes at this location.
The Mecklenburg Historic Landmarks Commission report outlining the historical significance of the Croft Schoolhouse (and of its neighboring properties, the S. W. Davis House and the S.W. & C.S. Davis General Store) can be found on the Commission’s website HERE.
For more information on Pioneer Springs Community School, a tuition-free, public charter school visit: www.pioneersprings.org.
The community of Croft was an important early railroad stop between Charlotte and Huntersville. The original two-room, two-story Croft Schoolhouse was constructed c.1890.
The c. 1910 two-story addition to the Croft Schoolhouse was built by Neil Barnett, a local carpenter, enlarged the schoolhouse to four rooms to serve the growing community.
Silas Davis had lobbied for a schoolhouse expansion for several years, but the county school board was unable or unwilling to accommodate his wishes. Davis had the addition built at his own expense and billed the school board for the construction costs for which he was promptly reimbursed.
In its early years, the Croft School served as a combined elementary and middle school. When the building had only two rooms, grades one through nine were taught there. By the 1920s, in its expanded version, grades one through seven were taught at Croft. Although students were grouped according to grade, teachers had more than one grade per classroom. Students who finished at Croft were sent to Huntersville High School. Students who attended the Croft School in the 1910s and 1920s recall the school never had electricity or running water. Students had to bring their lunch from home and they were also required to bring their own drinking glass.