As the settlement grew, a larger school was needed. About 1885 the second school was built. This was 24' x 36' with two rooms on the ground with a hallway between and double doors to close it. It was finished with a beveled siding, painted white, and had a beaded ceiling. It had four windows on each side; a small belfry on top; and a little porch at the front. Six grades were taught in this school, but it was later sold to the Baptist Church and moved back of Sellmeyer's store. Board members were: R. Whitaker, C.B Cox, and W.M Ledbetter.
Mrs. Nettie Ricker attended school in this building when she was 10 years old. Mr & Mrs. George Hughey were also students here and Miss Grace Cottle taught school here.
The timber works kept Knobel growing. Eli Lodi purchased 100 acres of land adjoining the railroad land. It was surveyed and laid out in city lots in 1888. A spoke and handle factory employed 600 men and by 1900 the population reached 900.
A larger school was needed, so about 1897-98, a building with two rooms on the ground with a hallway between and double doors to close it was erected. It also had two rooms upstairs with one being used as a gym. The other room was used by different lodges as their meeting place. The contractors, Jason Blalock and Frank Dahmus, built the building and furnshed all the material for $2,000. Lawrence Dahmus and Lee Blalock were paid $1.00 per day (10 Hrs.) as carpenter helpers.
Top picture, left--- Old school house in Knobel, built in 1894; Top right and bottom right-- razing of the school building in 1936 with some of the lumber used in the construction of new Works Production Adm., school building of a frame and brick veneer construction. Bottom left-- Front Row, Robert Brown, unidentified, Charlie Hopkins, C.L (kid) Gravatt, Ed Murtha, Middle row--- Charley T. Bennett, Raymond Anglin, Edgar Ashley, Walter Brown, Willie Robbins; Rear row--- Clyde Cox, Lawrence Dahmus, Ervin (Hub) Dicus. Lawrence Dahmus was foreman of the above construction crew and A.O Border was timberkeeper. -- picture courtesy of A.O Border.
With the addition of these students, it was decided a new gym was necessary. This was completed by Dec. 1941. It consisted of two classrooms, a stage, bleachers, and basketball court. One of the two rooms, I believe, was the sixth grade classroom of the 1952 graduating class with Miss Christine Mason was the teacher. The exterior of the building was white siding with red brick. The insdie had hardwood with stained pine walls.
Fire, of undetermined origin, destroyed the main building of Knobel High School on March 16,1944. All records and equipment were destroyed. The School Board, however, made plans for another main building to be built of red brick and located on the north-east corner of the school grounds.
