Officials with the Ozarks Heritage Research Center (OHRC) at Missouri State University-West Plains (MSU-WP) will host a special presentation on forgotten schoolhouses in the Ozarks at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 9, at the Garnett Library, 304 W. Trish Knight St., in West Plains.
The presentation will be given by acclaimed regional photographer and author Robert A. McCormick, who will discuss his latest publication, “Abandoned Ozarks II: Forgotten Schoolhouses.”
More about the presentation
“Abandoned Ozarks II: Forgotten Schoolhouses” is another nostalgic trip through time, organizers said. In his first book, “Abandoned Ozarks Southwest Missouri: Preserving the Past,” McCormick focused on a wide array of abandoned and decaying structures on farms and in rural communities throughout the mountainous region of Ozarks in southwest Missouri.
This time, McCormick turns his attention and lens to abandoned schoolhouses throughout the entire Ozarks region in southern Missouri and northern Arkansas. He explores the history of early education in the Ozarks’ remote regions and the sociological impact of these forgotten gems of early America.
McCormick’s research is paired with expertly rendered photographs of these abandoned and mostly forgotten buildings, which were once the social centers of their communities at a time when the roads weren’t paved, electricity was a far-off dream and education was a often a luxury for the hardscrabble mountain folk.
In his evocative photos, McCormick explores the many different styles of schoolhouses, from simple log structures to giraffe-stone vernacular to sturdy stone buildings built by the Works Progress Administration during the Great Depression.
McCormick has researched and photographed hundreds of abandoned schoolhouses over the last 20 years, and this book features some of the most architecturally and historically significant schools from that period still standing.
More about McCormick
McCormick is an eighth-generation Ozarks native hailing originally from Aurora, Missouri. His photographs have appeared in a number of regional publications, including a featured edition of Ozarks Watch Magazine. His first book was included as part of Font Hill Publishing’s series “America Through Time.” His work has been recognized for the photographic preservation of abandoned historical and culturally significant structures in the Ozarks region.
McCormick studied at Missouri State University in Springfield and has resided in Forsyth, Missouri, for the last 25 years.
The Sept. 9 event is free and open to all. Light refreshments will be served.
For more information about the event, contact Rebekah McKinney at 417-255-7949 or RebekahMcKinney@MissouriState.edu.