Jenny Whynaucht keeps North Augusta history books close at hand.
When visitors come to her store, Singing Hills Antiques on West Avenue, and ask about North Augusta's first school house, she points to the entries containing the history of North Augusta's first schoolhouse.
The one-room original building was constructed in 1898. Residents, seeing the need for education, raised $300 for the project. Thirteen pupils attended that first year.
The school quickly outgrew the building. By 1900, enrollment reached 20 pupils and the staff consisted of a teacher, Nina Verdery, and a principal known as Shecut.
The school relocated in 1901 to Georgia Avenue.
In 1902, the building became the property of the newly formed North Augusta Baptist Church.
By 1908, the church, too, had outgrown the building and relocated to the present site of First Baptist Church North Augusta.
The building fell under private ownership after that. A wing was constructed onto the rear of the building and it was converted into a duplex.
It's the added-on wing that gives the building its L shape and the wide front porches give the structure its homey appearance.
Very little has changed structurally since those additions in the early 1900s.
The Whynauchts found the place in 1998 and deemed it perfect for running a business and living on the same premises.
They live in the rear apartment and run their antique store in the front apartment.
"It's kind of fun that we're in antiques and (we're in) a historic building," she said.
They did some restoration work, such as refinishing the heart pine floors, repainting the exterior and building a new back deck. But the bones of the house were still in good condition, Whynaucht said.
"No one ever abused this house," she said.
Even the wavy glass in the most of the windows is original.
The building's short history as an educational and parochial building is often obscured by native's memories of others who have lived there.
Customers often share stories about friends and family who once resided there, Whynaucht said.
Occasionally, visitors refer to the building as the "site" of the old schoolhouse. Whynaucht corrects them and tells them it's not just the site of the city's first school, it is the actual building.
"A lot of people didn't know it was a school because it always looked like a house," Whynaucht said.
This is part of a continuing series spotlighting historic homes and places in North Augusta.
Reach Lisa Kaylor at lisa.kaylor@northaugustatoday.com.
