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Picture of the day -
March 6, 2006
Liberty Hall School - Lodi, Va
Today's picture is truly one of the most heart-breaking images I have ever seen.
The willful neglect and destruction of the historic Liberty Hall School
building in Lodi, Virginia saddens everyone who walked its halls for the better
part of a hundred years.
Ever since its completion way back in the 19th century, Liberty Hall has stood
tall and proud on a southwestern Virginia hill serving as a beacon for all who
wished to learn. For years, students came from far and wide to study there until
the Washington County School Board took over the building and turned it into a
K-12 county school (Liberty Hall High School).
In 1964, Holston High School in Damascus, Virginia was completed and grades 8-12
were transferred from Liberty Hall and Damascus High School to Holston. The two
older school buildings remained in use as elementary schools (K-7) for the next
several years.
Liberty Hall, Damascus Elementary and nearby Bethel Elementary were closed in
1981 when construction was completed on several new school buildings in the
county. The Damascus school building, nicknamed "The Rock School" was renovated
for use as an apartment building and its unique exterior has been well-preserved
in more or less its original state.
Liberty Hall wasn't so lucky however. After its closing in 1981, this
once-beautiful and historic building fell into the hands of a local farmer who
literally used it as a tobacco, hay and pig barn. It quickly fell into a state
of disrepair that likely will never be reversed. Years of water damage from a
leaking roof and broken windows have turned what was a stately architectural
treasure in 1981 into a literal decaying pig-sty, and it probably won't be much longer
until Liberty Hall collapses under its own weight.
Side view of the dilapidated Liberty Hall School building.
Why the county chose to allow this wonderful piece of southwestern Virginia
history to be taken over and turned into a barn is a mystery. Luckily, the
Damascus Rock School
was able to avoid such a fate.
Every time I pass by what's left of Liberty Hall's buildings and grounds, my mind
wanders back to the days of my childhood when cool autumn breezes would blow
into the windows of her classrooms along with the sounds of children playing
softball or some other game in the small field that now holds a "landfill convenience
station" (dumpsters). What a terrible waste of a such a powerful
symbol of our region's rich heritage.
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