South Carolina Department of Archives and History
National Register Properties in South Carolina

Tamassee DAR School, Oconee County (1925 Bumgardner Dr., Tamassee)
S1081773701901 S1081773701902 S1081773701903 S1081773701904 S1081773701905
Walhalla Chapter Gate Steel Truss
Bridge
Michigan Cottage Marshall Gate Missouri Groves
Cottage
S1081773701906 S1081773701907 S1081773701908 S1081773701909 S1081773701910
Edla Stannard
Gibson Chapel
May Erwin
Talmedge Auditorium
Smokestack Sarah Corbin
Robert School
Pumphouse
Talmedge Auditorium
vicinity
S1081773701911 S1081773701912 S1081773701913 S1081773701914 S1081773701915
Jones Gate Illinois Cottage New Jersey Cottage Pouch Cottage Pennsylvania
Health House
S1081773701916 S1081773701917 S1081773701918 S1081773701919 S1081773701920
Richards Cottage Cattle Barn Hunt Cottage Grant Cottage New York Cottage
S1081773701921 S1081773701922 S1081773701923 S1081773701924 S1081773701925
South Carolina
Cottage
All State Building Greenhouse Ohio West
Guest Cottage
Belleville Cottage
S1081773701926 S1081773701927 S1081773701928 S1081773701929 S1081773701930
West Virginia
Cottage
Texas Cottage Dorchester Cottage Water Tower Bell of Ohio

The Tamassee DAR School is significant at the state level for its association with the history of education in the rural northwestern corner of South Carolina and as a unique example of a school in South Carolina sponsored by a national patriotic organization for the purpose of helping poor children in a rural area have better access to education. The school is one of only two in the United States created by the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR). Funding for the School was provided primarily by state chapters of the DAR from all across the country. The Tamassee DAR School was also the first site in South Carolina of the Wil Lou Gray Opportunity School, a significant early twentieth century initiative in the state to improve adult literacy. The Tamassee DAR School opened in 1919. The curriculum emphasized education in the DAR’s core values of good citizenship and patriotism. The first class had female boarding students, with boys enrolled only in the day school. Boys began to be admitted as boarding students in 1932. The poor rural families who sent their children to the school in the early years often paid the tuition with the only form of payment they had available, namely produce and livestock. By 1954, it boasted an enrollment of 452 students. The campus was intended to be self-sufficient with all the necessary buildings needed to run a facility of this type. The school, living quarters, a church, and other buildings were all located within walking distance of any point on campus. The nominated property includes forty-four contributing historic buildings, sites, objects and structures and eleven noncontributing resources, with the contributing resources dating from 1919 to 1960. Listed in the National Register May 16, 2012.

View the complete text of the nomination form for this National Register property.

Most National Register properties are privately owned and are not open to the public. The privacy of owners should be respected. Not all properties retain the same integrity as when originally documented and listed in the National Register due to changes and modifications over time.

Images and texts on these pages are intended for research or educational use. Please read our statement on use and reproduction for further information on how to obtain a photocopy or how to cite an item.


Images provided by the South Carolina Department of Archives and History.