Robert E. Lee School (Paris, Tennessee)

The Robert E. Lee School is a historic school building located at 402 Lee Street, Paris, Henry County, Tennessee.

Robert E. Lee School
Location402 Lee Street, Paris, Henry County, Tennessee
Coordinates36°18′21″N 88°19′48″W
Built1893
NRHP reference No.88001426[1]
Added to NRHPSeptember 7, 1988

It was built in 1893 and added to the National Register in 1988.

History

Land for a new school was donated by Judge John C. Hamilton in 1848. Trustees for the Paris Male Academy contracted John Oury on 30 August of that year to construct a brick building fifty feet by thirty-two feet with eighteen inch thick outer walls. Cost upon completion was $2,470. A bell was later installed in September 1849.[2]

Paris Male Academy operated as a private school until 1881 when it became public and renamed itself the Paris Public School. After legislation was passed affecting other schools in the city, Paris Public School became City High School, teaching ten grades, in the fall of 1891. In December of that year, the school building burned.[3]

A movement to rebuild the school began in early 1892, which was completed and opened in September 1893 as City High School. This is the building that survives today.[3]

The school became known as the Robert E. Lee School about 1910.

The building was used for school and classroom purposes until 1975 when new buildings were constructed elsewhere. The Paris Special School District used the building until 2001.[4]

The Robert E. Lee School Association (RELSA), a non-profit organization, took the building over in 2001 and began restoring it with grant money and fundraising efforts. In 2003, the building became the home to the Robert E. Lee Academy for the Arts.[4]

On August 27, 2020 the Board of Directors announced that the Board has voted to change the name of the historic Robert E. Lee School to the Paris Academy for the Arts.[4]

References
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  2. Johnson, E. McLeod (1958). A History of Henry County, Tennessee. Self Published. p. 149.
  3. Johnson, E. McLeod (1958). A History of Henry County, Tennessee. Self Published. pp. 154–155.
  4. "The Center for the Arts at Robert E. Lee School". Archived from the original on 24 February 2013. Retrieved 11 December 2012.


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