2023 Roots Magazine / Kiawah Conservancy - Walnut Hill School House

The Magazine of the Kiawah Conservancy

The rural history of John’s Island is washing away, like the rains from a summer thunderstorm soaking into the sandy loam soil of a sea island. At first it was Charlestonians who labeled come yahs and bin yahs as opposing forces, but now those same terms have come into clearer focus for John’s Island residents. The Walnut Hill one-room wooden schoolhouse built in 1868 sits silently in a wooded area in a state of dilapidation, directly adjacent to an area with prosperity levels that are above average. The common sense solution to saving the schoolhouse has long been on hold, and the danger is that the stalemate produces a Failing Grade to conserve a schoolhouse that could still serve to educate others.

Centerfold Layout by Editor Blake Shorter

If you have never heard of the Walnut Hill School before, you might be surprised to learn that you drive past it every trip to Seabrook, Bohicket and Kiawah. While the signage at a restaurant or a produce stand may have caught your attention, the small wooden schoolhouse sits just off the road and blends in. That said, the schoolhouse has had its champions in recent history, including Betty Stringfellow and Sidi Limehouse and the Americorps organization, but the memories of the teachers and the Freedman’s Bureau are bookmarks in time more than a century ago. It’s hard to conjure having one teacher for a classroom packed with students of all ages, but that was the job. 

Only a few John’s Island families have a mulit-generational presence to even be able to reference when family members received education in one of the one-room schoolhouses. John’s Island farmer Thomas Legare is a part of one of those families. “My great Aunt is 95-years old and she remembers going to a schoolhouse until third grade,” said Legare. “This schoolhouse was closer to our farm, and I’m not sure we ever knew of Walnut Hill schoolhouse.” It is thought there were a dozen one-room schoolhouses serving John’s Island.

John Zloger is a member of the John’s Island Task Force, and a fairly new resident of the island. “We are raising awareness about the benefits of conservation for the entire area, and we know about the Walnut Hill School building,” said Zloger. “South Atlantic Development Enterprises owns the tract, plus another tract near Freshfields, and the path forward regarding the schoolhouse is complex. We remain committed to coming up with solutions to better John’s Island for the future.”

To view past blog entries from Kiawah Island click on 2023 Sea Islands Shorebird Festival - 2023 Earth Day -  2019 Record Turtle Nests - 2018 2.0 Expansion Plan - 2017 Shorebird Symposium - 2012 PGA Championship - 2011 Sea Turtle Release with S.C. Aquarium

To view past entries from Seabrook Island click on 2018 Shorebirds with Felicia Sanders - 2018 Piebald Buck - 2017 Hummingbirds with Patrick McMillan - 2016 Turtle Patrol - 2016 Beach Restoration Recognition