The Peeks Creek community mostly opposed selling the old Pine Grove School to a private developer during a public hearing at the April 9 Macon County Board of Commissioners meeting.
On March 6, Macon County got an offer from Roger Soderstrom Sr. and Roger Soderstrom Jr. for $102,910 (the 2022 appraised value) to buy the 1.26-acre tract at 38 Peeks Creek Road. The land, located on the corner of Peeks Creek Road and Highlands Road, is home to the Pine Grove School, a 1,440-square-foot building used for Election Day voting in the Sugarfork Precinct. The building was owned and operated until January 2023 by the Macon County Preservation Society, which disbanded in 2021 and handed the land over to the county.
At the March 12 meeting, the commissioners voted to hold a public hearing on the proposed sale after Commissioner Paul Higdon’s motion to approve the bid died for a lack of a second. Commissioner Josh Young said he didn’t feel the price was equitable.
Eight people spoke during the April 9 public hearing; seven either against the proposed sale or in favor of letting the community manage the building, and one speaker supported the sale. All eight spoke on preserving the old schoolhouse.
The first speaker, Alex Hawkins, a Peeks Creek resident in favor of selling the land, said it’s not seen any activity in three years minus Election Day.
“Since this possible sale would mean the building would be used and maintained and the county would not have the expense to maintain in the future,” Hawkins said. He wants the memorial for the five people killed in the September 2004 Peeks Creek flood debris flow to remain.
Mary Ann Ingram said she’s voted there every election since 1996 and said it’s a good location for the 400-or-so Sugarfork residents to vote. Ingram asked the commissioners to give Peeks Creeks residents a chance to operate the old schoolhouse. Ingram said if the commissioners sell the property, add the caveat of placing it on the National Register of Historic Places, and that voting remains there.
Marci Holland, another Peeks Creek resident, talked about how the current building goes back to 1912 and the community effort in 2006 to keep it up with updated bathrooms, a handicap-accessible ramp, sanding the original pine boards and roof repair. Holland said the community didn’t learn of the disbanding of the Macon County Preservation Society until recently. Holland said residents are willing to serve as a new community club to cover building maintenance.
“We know once it’s sold, it’ll be lost forever for use by the community,” Holland said. “We want to be able to continue to use that and we are willing to pick up the torch.”
Julie Tastinger talked about her grandfather walking to school there, being taken by her mom for voting there, and that the building isn’t done teaching history lessons. Chris Brower, who lives near the building, talked about the land’s history from 1885 onward and encouraged the county to maintain it. Betsy Carson read her husband Rick’s statement about how the building represents a nexus of the community.
Karen Deal Raby got emotional talking about the “sweat equity” put into the building and her family members who walked to school there.
“It is a place where our children and generations to follow should be able to return to the roots and be able to appreciate the contributions that came out of this little two-room schoolhouse,” Raby stated.
Narelle Kirkland, who was there to speak on a different subject, spoke about how the county rallied around the Peeks Creek community after the 2004 disaster.
After the public hearing, Commissioner John Shearl made a motion to discuss and take action on the Pine Grove School offer. Commissioner Josh Young asked the community members if they could pull off a nonprofit and pull together the funds to keep up insurance and maintenance on the building. Young said he wanted to give the building back “to the rightful owners.”
Commissioner Danny Antoine asked if there’s a nonprofit set up now. Holland said no, but she has spoken with the Holly Springs Community Center group about how they maintain their building. Shields then asked Holland to research how to get a building on a historic place registry.
Antoine said the support from the community was “pretty unanimous.” Afterward, Shearl retracted his motion for discussions and action. Young ended the discussion by saying the community’s presence was powerful and the commissioners heard their voices.
Young asked the community to keep the commissioners appraised of their process in the next 60-90 days. The board took no formal action on the proposal at the meeting.