Oak Hill School was built in 1886 to serve the community of Knob Creek. The building served local residents as a school and as a center for community events until the school was closed in the 1950s. The school sat unoccupied (except for a few bales of hay) until the expansion and development of Johnson City encroached. The property on which Oak Hill School was built was to become a retail shopping center. The property owners approached the Jonesborough/Washington County History Museum about saving the structure by relocating it to Jonesborough.
The school building was moved the seven miles from Knob Creek to Jonesborough and placed in its current location behind the Visitors Center. Once in the new location, Oak Hill School was lovingly restored to the way that it may have appeared in the 1890s. From using paint analysis to find the original wall color to collecting the oral histories of living alumni, every effort was made to ensure that those who enter the doors today can see what students in Knob Creek would have seen over a century ago.
Today, Oak Hill School invites students to come for a day-long field trip and enroll in the class of 1892-93. Reading, writing, arithmetic, history, geography – even the pledge of allegiance – are all as they were prior to the turn of the last century. Our curriculum is based on the detailed 1892-93 diary of a Washington County School Superintendent. Students gain an understanding of the lives of their predecessors through this glimpse of a typical school day. Designed for a single classroom, a day at Oak Hill School is an experience students will treasure.
The program generally lasts from four to five hours and is available March – early November. The cost per student is $7.00 for groups of 13 or more. There is a minimum fee of $75.00 for this program. There is no charge for adult chaperones. In keeping with historical accuracy, Oak Hill School does not provide programming for children under six years of age.
We are flexible in scheduling. Groups that include a large number of children should contact us for options. For additional information or to schedule your day at Oak Hill School, please call the Heritage Alliance at 423-753-9580, Monday through Friday between 9 am and 5 pm or email us at education@heritageall.org.
To learn more about our educational programs and where they fit into the Tennessee state standards, click HERE to access our Educational brochure!
